Hana Umami Blue Moving Coil Cartridge Reviews

5 Rating 33 Reviews

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Phone:

909.931.9686

Email:

joel.m@upscaleaudio.com

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2058 Wright Avenue,
2058 Wright Avenue
California
91750

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“This is my first foray into higher end cartridges. I didn't realize the difference it could make. Highly recomended.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“After upgrading my table from a Music Hall 9.3 to an Acoustic Signature Tornado, it became apparent that my Hana SL MK1 was now the weak link. The Umami Blue, like most all of Hana's offerings, hits way above it's price point. With the SL, highs felt like the cart was doing all it could to reproduce them, while the Umami Blue feels effortless, adding a delightful 'air' to the upper end. The low end is tight and never bloated, delivering the content of the discs quite beautifully. With good discs, the 'pop' from the needle drop dissapears in to a near perfect emptyness until the music begins. After inviting some (non-audiophile)friends and family over to listen to the 'new' system, the number one respone was 'I felt like I was in the room with them!' One strangely cautionary word- this cart is VERY accurate, revealing weaknesses in your system and the vinyl itself. Some discs that languished on my shelf, due to me writing them off as a bad pressing, poor mastering, etc, have recieved a new life, while some others now have their mastering chain flaws revealed! System: Anthem 225 Integrated, Tannoy XT-8F speakers, Trichord Research Delphini MK2 phono pre with upgrades PSU.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“A step up from Hana ML. Provides tighter bass and better resolution to the recording. Great sounding cart!”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“After about ten hours of playback, I have had four "Wow!" moments and even more "Hmm, I never heard this album sound this good before" moments. It makes me want to take better care of my records. I am running the Umami Blue on a Technics SL1210G, all stock in combination with a Mofi Electronics MasterPhono phono stage.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Richard Martin

Verified Reviewer

“Picked this cart up after a new kitten and dog incident trashed my hana ML , and will say after 50+ hours , this is by far my favorite product from upscale to date , the ML was really good , the Blue is just in a separate category for price to performance, in my system . I sent my tone arm to upscale , Sean installed it and sent it back , no stress as always with upscale.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

“Recently upgraded from a MOFI Mastertracker to the Umami Blue and all I can say is wow. Just a huge difference in dynamics, transients, detail, you name it, the Blue delivers in spades. Highly recommended.”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

John Swanson

Verified Reviewer

“The ML was really nice, and this thing? Wow! Fantastic! My only regret is that I didn’t get it sooner! It’s a big step up and we are loving it!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Elliot Kremerman

Verified Reviewer

“Sounds really good. Very detailed. But it picks up hiss if the record has it. Maybe even more than cheaper less accurate cart. I have some records that are pressed really well and this cart is Uber silent. So I know it's the record pressing. With some other records, some that sound really great, they have a slightly higher background noise. However the cart sounds really good and better than most so that background noise is only on muted or absent sound sections during a track. I'm convinced it's just more detailed as it only happens on specific pressings. Overall the sound quality is really good. The bass is more mechanical sounding and less thubby. There a lot less bluring between lower frequency. A snare drum sounds like you are standing right in front of it. With vocals it sounds like the person is singing five feet from you. The needle has a noteable invisibility in a room with high db. I think with speakers four or five feet away with the stereo playing at 85-90+ db there's no pickup or interference on the needle. I was shocked.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago