Swipe or use the previous and next buttons to browse. Select an image to open a magnified view.
Hana · Umami
$2,500
Not currently in our rooms. For a serious buyer we will often bring a piece in from the manufacturer for a private session — tell us about your system and what you are weighing it against, and we will advise.
Hana · Umami
A hand-built Japanese moving coil that pairs the Umami Red's boron cantilever and Microline stylus with an Alnico motor, for clear, quiet and very natural sound.
Authorized Hana dealer · Delivery and installation by Pearl Audio · Trade-ins welcome
The story
Hana cartridges are built by Excel Sound in Japan, which makes the major parts in-house and assembles each cartridge by hand. The Umami Blue sits alongside the Umami Red. It shares the Red's precision-cut Microline nude diamond, boron cantilever and high-purity copper coils, but uses an Alnico-magnet generator derived from the Hana ML. The magnetic circuit is cryogenically treated pure iron with a Permalloy armature. It is housed in Hana's Auricle body, CNC-machined from duralumin, with a thermoset melamine finish and 24K gold-plated output pins.
Reviewers keep describing the Umami Blue as clear and quiet. Tracking Angle heard silky, extended highs and lows, tight bass, very low groove noise and fine microdynamics, with only a slightly lean lower midrange. Audiophilia found it neutral rather than warm, with an unusually clean background, sharp imaging and a wide soundstage. It is revealing, so clean records pay off. It is a low-output design (0.4 mV), so plan on an MC phono stage with about 60–66 dB of gain or a suitable step-up transformer. Hana specifies a load above 80 Ω, and both reviewers ran it at 100 Ω. At 10.8 g with medium compliance, it suits medium-mass tonearms.
The Umami Blue sits above the ML and below the Umami Red. On a trade-in, Musical Surroundings takes 30% off a new Umami Blue for a worn one (or a Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge of equal or greater value), 20% off for any other Hana, Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge, and 10% off for another brand worth over $1,000.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC) |
| Output | 0.4 mV at 1 kHz |
| Internal impedance | 8 Ω |
| Recommended load | Greater than 80 Ω (100 Ω a good starting point) |
| Tracking force | 2.0 g |
| Compliance | 10 × 10⁻⁶ cm/dyne at 100 Hz (est. 17 × 10⁻⁶ at 10 Hz) |
| Weight | 10.8 g |
| Stylus | Microline nude diamond |
| Cantilever | Boron |
| Magnet | Alnico |
| Frequency response | 15 Hz – 50 kHz |
| Channel separation / balance | 30 dB at 1 kHz / 0.5 dB |
| Body | Duralumin, melamine thermoset finish |
| Also available | Hana Umami Red (samarium-cobalt magnet, duralumin and ebony body) |
Hana trade-in and re-tip exchange (Musical Surroundings). Trade in a worn Umami Blue and a new one is 30% off ($1,750). Trade in any other Hana, Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge and it is 20% off ($2,000); any other brand worth over $1,000 earns 10% off ($2,250).
| Hana re-tip exchange — Umami Blue for a new Umami Blue | $1,750 (Hana does not retip; your worn cartridge is exchanged for a new one at 30% off) |
| Trade in your Hana Umami Blue | $1,750 after trade-in (credit $750) |
| Trade in your Hana EH | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Trade in your Hana EL | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Trade in your Hana EH MK II | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Trade in your Hana EL MK II | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Trade in your Hana SH | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Trade in your Hana SL | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Trade in your Hana SH MK II | $2,000 after trade-in (credit $500) |
| Other Hana cartridges | 6 more models qualify; use the trade-in selector on this page or ask us |
The 30% re-tip exchange is Hana's replacement for retipping: a worn cartridge of the same series (working or not) is exchanged for a new one. Trade-ins of Musical Surroundings brands (Hana, Clearaudio, DS Audio) need an RA number and must arrive within 30 days of the invoice; other brands need an emailed photograph first. For the Umami models the 30% exchange also applies to a Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge of equal or greater retail value. The Umami Blue and Red take other-brand trades only when the trade is worth more than $1,000 retail. Verified 2026-10-28. Source: Hana dealer price list, January 2026 (Musical Surroundings).
The Hana cartridges Pearl Audio stocks, from least to most expensive:
Plan your Hana system with Pearl Audio
Pearl Audio is an authorized Hana dealer. Arrange an audition in our Portland showroom, and ask us about trade-in pricing against your current cartridge. Call (503) 222-2599 or email sales@pearlaudio.com.
Ownership
Trade in a worn Umami Blue and a new one is 30% off ($1,750). Trade in any other Hana, Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge and it is 20% off ($2,000); any other brand worth over $1,000 earns 10% off ($2,250).
Credit is 20% of the new cartridge’s price for a worn Umami Blue at 30%; any Hana, Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge at 20%; other brands over $1,000 retail at 10%. The 30% re-tip exchange is Hana's replacement for retipping: a worn cartridge of the same series (working or not) is exchanged for a new one. Trade-ins of Musical Surroundings brands (Hana, Clearaudio, DS Audio) need an RA number and must arrive within 30 days of the invoice; other brands need an emailed photograph first. For the Umami models the 30% exchange also applies to a Clearaudio or DS Audio cartridge of equal or greater retail value. The Umami Blue and Red take other-brand trades only when the trade is worth more than $1,000 retail. Verified 2026-10-28.
Ask us about this trade-in| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Hana re-tip exchange — Umami Blue for a new Umami Blue | $1,750 |
Pricing per Hana - 2026-01 - Dealer Price List (Musical Surroundings, January 2026) and musicalsurroundings.com/faq. Programs are set by the manufacturer and may change.
The Pearl Audio experience
A system at this level should be heard, thoughtfully matched, and properly set up. From the first audition to long-term ownership, you work with the same people, in person.
The Hana Umami Blue is not in our rooms at present. When it is the right piece for a client we arrange a demonstration unit from the manufacturer and set it up for a private session.
We deliver and install throughout the Portland area, taking care of placement, connections, ventilation and system configuration ourselves.
We support everything we sell for as long as you own it, whether the answer comes by phone, in your home, or through factory service.
Trade-in assistance and qualifying 100% Trade-Up options give you flexibility when your listening priorities or your system change.
