Cartridges by Mutech
In the past 15-20 years, a group of Japanese designers with centuries of combined cartridge design experience have been gaining the attention of a growing number of U.S. analog lovers.
The legacy of Mr. Eiji Kanda (Mutech) began with a joint development project with Supex in 1959. Mr. Kanda passed in 2020, and he trained Mr. Hiroki Kajihara and Ms. Akiko Ishiyama to carry on his legacy.
Mutech cartridges are built by master cartridge builder Ms. Akiko Ishiyama, under the auspices of Kajihara Lab Co.
Ms. Ishiyama is also the master crafts person responsible for building Ikeda cartridges.
Kuzma Safir / Mutech Hayabusa
Deservedly gaining recognition alongside the likes of Koetsu, Fidelity Research, Kiseki and Supex, U.S. audiophiles are discovering companies like My Sonic Lab (and all the companies they are an OEM manufacturer for), Murasakino, Hana (Excel), Etsuro, Transfiguration, and of course, Mutech.
Once you've sampled a range of cartridges from these builders, we think you'll understand why we jokingly comment that these designers must gather for sushi and saki on a regular basis, because (while they are all unique), they share many of the same aesthetics and musical sensibilities.
Prices effective January, 2025:
subject to change without notice due to fluctuating market conditions and at manufacturer's discretion.
The Hayate - $7,500
Hayate
The Hayate is the evolution of the Hayabusa, featuring among other things, revisions to the ring magnet structure.
Of particular interest, the magnetic circuit (in both the Hayate and Hayabusa) eliminates the yoke - directly embedding the SSuM core in the neodymium ring magnet structure. This reduces magnetic distortion.
The Hayabusa set a very high bar, and improving on it requred revisiting every last detail in its design.
Changes from the Hayabusa include, but are not limited to:
- Revising the OFC coil material and winding technique to minimize inductance while retaining low resistance
- Gold plating the magnets to damp vibration
- Improving the damping of the terminal board
- Specifying a proprietary solder
- Revising the OFC cartridge pin plating from rhodium to gold. This improves compatibility with a broader range of cartridge clips (which are predominantly gold)
The changes above (and the specs below) don't tell the entire story. For example, the slightly higher coil resistance than the Hayabusa (1.75 ohms vs. 1.5 ohms) is balanced against moving mass and inductance.
As always, hearing is believing.
Frequency Response | 10-45 kHz |
Cantilever | φ0.3ｍｍ solid boron |
Stylus | semi-line contact |
Magnetic Circuit | Yokeless SS-uM core embedded in a neodymium ring magnet |
Magnet | Gold Plated Neodymium.＃50 |
Output Level | 0.45mV ( 1kHz, 3.45cm/sec) |
Internal Coil Impedance | 1.75Ω |
Tracking Force | 1.8 - 2.0g |
Channel Balance | <= 0.5 dB @ 1kHz |
Channel Separation | >= 30dB @ 1kHz |
Terminal Plating | OFC Gold by Proterial Metals |
Mass | 9 g |
The Hayabusa - $5,000
Hayabusa
The Hayabusa shares some key design attributes with the My Sonic Lab cartridges - most notably, extremely low coil impedance, while still maintaining a .45mV output.
Low coil impedance translates to less wire, and therefore less moving mass.
The Hayate features a brand new generator developed by Eiji Kanda.
Its low impedance (1.5 ohms), high output (0.45mV) is achieved by removing the yoke and embedding the original SS-μM core into a neodymium (ring magnet) structure.
The result is reduced magnetic distortion (improved linearity).
Frequency Response | 10-45 kHz |
Cantilever | φ0.3ｍｍ nude boron （3Mm.m×30Mm.m） |
Stylus | semi-line contact |
Magnetic Circuitry | Yokeless SS-uM core embedded in a neodymium ring magnet |
Magnet | Neodymium.＃50 |
Output Level | 0.45mV ( 1kHz, 3.45cm/sec) |
Internal Coil Impedance | 1.5Ω |
Tracking Force | 1.8 - 2.0g |
Channel Balance | <= 0.5 dB @ 1kHz |
Channel Separation | >= 30dB @ 1kHz |
Terminal Plating | Rhodium |
Mass | 9 g |
