Excel Sound produces all the major parts used in Hana MC cartridges itself, from materials like aluminum for the cantilever, Alnico for the electro-motive power magnet, pure iron for the magnetic circuit and 4N copper wire for MC wiring. The electrical sub-assembly is then packaged in an ABS plastic body. So you see, of the constituent materials are not rare or expensive, but designed and manufactured correctly, they can produce cartridges with a very excellent sound for a reasonable price – a rare end product indeed.
Specialized tooling is another weapon that improves the price/quality performance, so manufactured parts are consistently perfect, repeatable parts for production, parts designed for maximum performance assuring the highest level of performance.
Lastly, perhaps the most essential ‘secret’ is the hand assembling by skilled artisans. Excel Sound craftsmen hand assemble all the parts into a perfect finished product, producing a consistent “Brilliant and Gorgeous” Hana sound. Without this precise hand assembling and the fine-tuning work by Excel Sound’s renown craftsmen, with their accumulation of 50 years of cartridge production expertise, the Hana products would not sound so consistently fine and delicate. Rare or exotic materials and extreme design is not enough to make a fine MC cartridge, but might make an expensive one.
華(Hana) MC Cartridges Specifications:
| Model No. |
HANA-EH |
HANA-EL |
HANA-SH |
HANA-SL |
| Stylus |
Synthetic Elliptical |
Synthetic Elliptical |
Nude Diamond Shibata |
Nude Diamond Shibata |
| Cantilever |
Aluminum |
Aluminum |
Aluminum |
Aluminum |
| Output level |
2mv/1kHz |
0.5mv/1KHz |
2mv/1KHz |
0.5mv/1KHz |
| Output balance |
<2dB/1KHz |
<2dB/1KHz |
<1.5dB/1KHz |
<1.5dB/1KHZ |
| Vertical Tracking force |
2gr |
2gr |
2gr |
2gr |
| Trackability |
70μm/2gr |
| Dynamic Compliance |
10 x 10 (-6) cm/dyne |
| Channel separation |
25dB/1KHz |
25dB/1KHz |
28dB/1KHz |
28dB/1KHz |
| Frequency response |
15-25,000Hz |
15-25,000Hz |
15-32,000Hz |
15-32,000Hz |
| Impedance |
130Ω/1KHz |
30Ω/1KHz |
130Ω/1KHz |
30Ω/1KHz |
| Suggested load Impedance |
47KΩ |
>400Ω |
47KΩ |
>400Ω |
| Suggested capacitance load |
47pf (Change to 100,150,220pf, subject to your sound preference to reduce higher frequency level) |
| Cartridge weight |
5gr |
5gr |
5gr |
5gr |
| Plastic Body Color |
Moss Green |
Moss Green |
Black |
Black |
