Hana MH Moving Coil Cartridge

Hana MH High Output Moving Coil Cartridge

The Hana MH is a high-output moving coil phono cartridge manufactured by Excel Sound Corporation in Japan. It belongs to the same M Series family as the Hana ML and shares its body, stylus, cantilever, magnetic circuit, and all material upgrades with that model. The sole difference between the two lies in the coil winding: the MH uses additional turns of high-purity copper wire to achieve a 2mV output at 1kHz, making it directly compatible with moving magnet phono stage inputs without the need for a dedicated MC-capable preamplifier or step-up transformer.

The Hana Lineup and Where the MH Fits

Hana cartridges are manufactured by Excel Sound Corporation, a Japanese company with more than five decades of experience in moving coil cartridge production. Excel handles all major component manufacturing in-house, allowing consistent quality across the range at competitive prices.

The M Series sits above the E and S Series in the Hana lineup and below the flagship Umami models. Within the M Series, the MH and ML are positioned as a complementary pair — identical in construction except for their output characteristics. The MH is the high-output version at 2mV, while the ML is the low-output version at 0.4mV. Choosing between them is primarily a matter of phono stage compatibility: the MH is designed for listeners whose phono stage has a moving magnet input or lacks sufficient gain for a low-output MC, while the ML is the choice when a dedicated MC input or step-up transformer is already in place.

Nude Microline Stylus

Both M Series models use a nude Microline stylus mounted on an aluminum cantilever. The nude construction means the diamond tip is a single piece with no adhesive bond, which reduces compliance variations and unwanted resonance at the stylus-cantilever junction. The Microline profile is a fine-line geometry that closely replicates the shape of the cutting lathe stylus used during mastering. It makes contact with the groove wall at a narrower point than elliptical or conical profiles, allowing it to trace high-frequency groove modulations more accurately and reach further into the groove for better retrieval of fine detail, stereo imaging, and frequency extension.

High-Purity Copper Coils

The MH's coils are wound with the same very high-purity copper wire used in the ML, measured at 30 microns in diameter. In the MH, additional winding turns produce the higher 2mV output but also raise the internal impedance to 130 ohms at 1kHz, which is why the standard 47kΩ moving magnet loading applies rather than the lower MC-specific values required by the ML. This makes the MH straightforward to integrate into a wide variety of existing systems without any additional matching considerations.

Delrin Body with Integral Brass Cap

The MH uses the same injection-molded Delrin (POM) body as the ML. Delrin is an engineering polymer selected for its mechanical rigidity and resonance characteristics, which acoustically resemble those of vinyl itself. The integral machined brass cap on top of the body provides constrained-layer damping at the cartridge-to-headshell interface and contributes to the 9.5-gram total weight, which broadens tonearm compatibility compared to the lighter E and S Series models. Threaded metal inserts for the mounting bolts are built into the body, simplifying installation and creating a more direct mechanical coupling to the headshell.

Cryogenic Treatment

As with the ML, key components of the MH's magnetic circuit undergo cryogenic processing. This cold annealing treatment exposes the Alnico magnet, front yoke, and center and rear magnetic circuit parts to temperatures near absolute zero. The process is understood to reorganize the crystalline structure of the metals involved, with the stated result being a more stable and uniform magnetic flux field within the generator, contributing to improved linearity and reduced distortion during playback.

MH vs. ML: Choosing Between Them

The MH and ML are built on the same platform and share every material and mechanical feature. The decision between them comes down entirely to the phono stage available. The MH's 2mV output is sufficient for any moving magnet input and eliminates the need for the additional gain or step-up transformer that the ML's 0.4mV output may require. For listeners already running a quality MC-capable phono stage, the ML is generally the preferred choice, as the lower impedance generator it uses is shared with the Hana Umami Blue and the fewer coil windings preserve slightly more transparency and delicacy at the top end. For those with a moving magnet stage or an integrated amplifier with a built-in phono input, the MH delivers the full M Series feature set without any system changes. Michael Fremer of Analog Planet, who reviewed both in the same listening session, noted that the MH sounds similar to the ML overall, with the ML offering somewhat greater liquidity and textural refinement at the cost of requiring more downstream gain.

System Matching

At 9.5 grams, the MH is well suited to tonearms with low to medium effective mass. Its 130-ohm internal impedance and standard 47kΩ recommended load mean it can be connected to virtually any phono stage without additional setup or loading adjustments. The threaded body makes mounting clean and secure. The MH is well positioned for analog listeners who want to step up from a moving magnet cartridge into M Series performance without changing their phono preamplifier. The Hana MH brings the full suite of M Series upgrades to systems built around moving magnet inputs.