A high-output Shibata moving coil with the cryogenic treatment, tapered cantilever and heavier damped body of Hana's dearer models, built to run straight into a moving magnet phono input.
The S Series MK II is master designer Masao Okada's update to Hana's best-selling cartridges. The headline change is a new tapered aluminum cantilever with higher rigidity and less mass at the tip, carrying the same nude diamond Shibata stylus. The yoke, pole pieces and gold-plated terminal pins are now cryogenically treated, a process borrowed from the Umami Red, Umami Blue and ML. The body is reshaped along the lines of the M Series, damped with a matte soft-feel black elastomeric paint, and topped with a brass cap that carries threaded mounting holes. That cap raises the weight from the original's 5 g to 8.6 g, which Hana says gives better coupling and compatibility with a wider range of tonearms. The SH MK II keeps the 2 mV output, 130 Ω coil and 47 kΩ load of the original SH, so it works with the majority of MM phono inputs.
Alan Sircom of Hi-Fi+ heard a cartridge that leads from the midrange out, slightly warmer and more mellifluous than the Umami Red without turning lush, with excellent articulation on vocals and guitars and a good sense of rhythm and flow. He put it at the head of its class and found it a particularly good partner for a turntable like the Technics SL-1300G. Mono & Stereo gave it an Editor's Choice award. Use the SH MK II with any decent MM phono stage or built-in phono input; no step-up or MC gain is needed. At 8.6 g with a compliance of 10 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne it is a medium-compliance cartridge for medium-mass arms. The Shibata profile rewards careful alignment and a tonearm with adjustable height, and we are happy to install it for you.
| Type | High-output moving coil (MC), for MM phono inputs |
| Output | 2 mV at 1 kHz |
| Internal impedance | 130 Ω at 1 kHz |
| Recommended load | 47 kΩ |
| Tracking force | 2.0 g (70 µm trackability at 2 g) |
| Compliance | 10 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne |
| Weight | 8.6 g |
| Stylus | Nude diamond Shibata |
| Cantilever | Tapered aluminum |
| Magnet | Alnico |
| Frequency response | 15 Hz – 32 kHz |
| Channel separation / balance | 28 dB at 1 kHz / within 1.5 dB |
| Body | Black, soft-feel elastomeric paint, brass cap with threaded mounts |
| Also available | Hana SL MK II (0.4 mV low-output version) and SL Mono MK II |
Pearl Audio is an authorized Hana dealer. Call or visit our Portland showroom to talk about matching a cartridge to your tonearm and phono stage.
