Observations - Trying to audition a Hana cartridge before buying

I am looking forward to buying a Hana SL MK II. I want to listen to it before I purchase.

Called Dealer 1, 10 miles away. We have a turntable with Hana Red. The preamp is a $ 125,000 model. It will likely not demonstrate anything close to what you are looking for. We can order but not demo.

Called Dealer 2, 50 miles away. I am a Hana dealer, but I have no Hana cartridges for demo. We can order.

Called Dealer 3, 100 miles away. We have ML and Blue for demo. Not the model SL MkII. We are open Monday to Friday only until 5.30 PM. We can order.

Dealer 4, 30 to 70 miles away, multiple stores. We sell, but have no Hana on demo. We can order.

Called Dealer 5, 50 miles away. Don’t have Hana for demo. I will send you a list of the Hana cartridges we have in stock, versus those we need to order.

I called USA Importer and shared my story, they offered to call around to dealers to find out which dealer may have one for demo, recognizing I would have to travel there to be able to audition.

I am curious as to other Audiogoner’s experience. Is it this hard to get a demo? Maybe too many brands and too many models for dealers to demo.

dcaudio03-22-2026 11:24am

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inagroove Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 298 posts 03-23-2026 at 02:13pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I am using a an ML, with ~2500 hours of play over two years (evaluating a large LP, very clean collection). Playing Relayer, by YES, this morning - great sound. As cartridges go, the Hana line-up is VERY well vetted. I expect the reason dealers do not demo ALL of the Hana line is that Hana carts reputations are so solid - would you really need a demo if you were buying a Ford F-150 pick up? IMO - as long as the cart complies with your tonearm and phono preamp specs, give it a try. Learn from experience and get comfortable with the fact that carts are semi-consumable components. If it helps, Hana has a great return policy (2 years for manufacturing defects) as well as a generous trade-in policy. I have no affiliation, and I have a Hana Red in the box just waiting for installation... The good news is there are LOTS of great carts out there to try. Good luck...
timothy468 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 88 posts 03-23-2026 at 04:07pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete That is a superb cartridge. When I needed an MC cartridge, I wrote to Definitive Audio (a dealer that is about 60 miles away from me) and this cartridge was strongly recommended for my system, and the comments were: "I like the Hana and Dynavector models quite a bit. With this being one of my favorites and a killer bang for the buck: https://www.hanacartridges.com/products/hana-sl-mk-ii " But the dealer also pointed out that "If purchased from us, we can mount and properly calibrate the table and weight for you." This is no small deal to me, insofar as I do not have the tools to do that as well as he does. However, being certain that you can return something is worth it. For me, trusting the seller and knowing them personally (even though I know they are selling to make money) goes a long way towards my deciding to pull the trigger on a purchase like that.
bubba12 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 503 posts 03-23-2026 at 08:41pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I don't think people realize what a small pool of buyers this community is. They can't have a demo of everything. I rarely see records played in dealerships.
audphile1 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 8,160 posts 03-23-2026 at 10:12pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @inagroove I just sold my Hana ML with around 100hrs on it at the most, to upgrade to Umami Blue. That’s a great deal for the gentleman that bought my ML considering the potential 2500hrs of service…wow
richardbrand Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 1,463 posts 03-24-2026 at 12:18am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete @audphile1 If you ever want to upgrade your new Umami Blue at around 100 hours, just let me know