Garth Leerer-san at Musical Surroundings / HANA USA distributor has forwarded us another these excellent Awards Winning review articles “2025 The Absolute Sound Golden Year Awards” on both SL_MK II and SL_MONO MKII in “The Absolute Sound” magazine (Sep. 2025) in the US by PAUL SEYDOR-san and ANDRE JENNINGS-san, for your further ongoing and powerful reference.

→http://www.theabsolutesound.com/
Following are their last phrases.

< SL_MK II by ANDRE JENNINGS-san>

The MK II’s bass is more agile and nimble than that of the original SL, while also extending deeper in low frequencies.
This brings the SL MK II a few steps closer to neutral when contrasted with the original Hana SL’s warmer musical palette. This cartridge isn’t one of those so-called “genre-specific” items; it plays well with all types of music. The cartridge is closer to being chameleon-like and outputs what the LP presents with all the ease, liveliness, vigor, elegance, and emotional moods captured during the recording session.
The Hana SL MK II does music justice and is a worthy successor to the original Hana SL.

< SL_MONO MKII by PAUL SEYDOR-san>

Low output and outfitted with a Shibata stylus, the SL Mono Mk II is a sonic beauty: luscious midrange and lower midrange with exceptional body and dimensionality that bring instruments and voices vibrantly to life; full upper-bass, weighty midbass, and bottom end of real power; and top end with a nice sense of air and a perfect dash of tingle, tickle, and mild but pleasing bite when cymbals and triangles are struck or tambourines shaken. Tracking is excellent, likewise detail and resolution,but the main story here is about musical naturalness that tilts in the direction of yin. This is a pickup that allows for optimal reproduction of your cherished mono LPs, and one I never tire of.