MUTECH, a Japanese cartridge manufacturer established in 2012, makes just one model for international export – the ‘Hayabusa’. This unique cartridge is the design of company-founder Eiji Kanda, and as Nirvana Sound's General Manager, Paul Astbury told us, it's a fascinating story.

In the 1970s, Kanda designed a yoke-less ring-magnet MC cartridge which had a theoretical performance advantage over traditional cartridge designs. However, the technology did not exist back then to build this cartridge, so he waited over 30 years to realise his design.

When Kanda started MUTECH and launched the ‘Kagayaki’ MC cartridge, it took the world by storm. More recently, they launched the ‘Hayabusa’ (using the yoke-less design), and it has become a cult classic around the world. 

Paul continues, "the term ‘yoke-less’ refers to the absence of a traditional yoke in the design, and the term ‘Ring Magnet’ refers to the shape of the magnet in the design. The idea of low impedance and high output is considered the holy grail of MC cartridge design, and this was a ground-breaking design".

Kanda’s idea was to locate the core and coil material within the magnet of the motor, facilitated by a tiny square opening. This eliminated the need for a yoke, utilised the maximum power of the magnet and resulted in no disturbance of the magnetic flux. This allowed the design to have fewer coil turns with very low impedance and high output. At the time there was no known material that could facilitate the design. Pure iron was unsuitable because of the saturation of magnetic force. After many years of research and metallurgy investigations, he developed a new material named ‘SS-μM’ (μ is pronounced ‘MU’).

Paul continued:

These engineering attributes manifest sonically, with incredible rendition of inner detail, expression of very subtle timbral & spatial information, and very low distortion and colouration.

George Moraitis, Director of Nirvana Sound, added:

Legendary Japanese craftsmen have made an enormous contribution to high-end cartridge design over the decades, with brands like Koetsu, Zyx, Lyra, MySonicLab and many more being revered for their musicality and sound quality. MUTECH have hased the party with the phenomenal Hayabusa, a cartridge that sounds like it belongs in the same class as the very best available yet at a fraction of the expected price. More than 30 years in development, the Hayabusa is so transparent, and the emotional communication is so palpable, that once experienced, it serves to recalibrate what you thought was possible from a cartridge at this level. Look up ‘Giant-Killer’ in the Audiophile Dictionary, and you will see a photo of the Hayabusa in there!

RM-KANDA HAYABUSA specifications are as follows:

• Electricity generating system : Yokeless Ring Magnet MC Cartridge
• Output voltage : 0.45mV ( 1kHz, 3.45cm/sec)
• Tracking force range : 1.8 - 2.0g
• Frequency response : 10 - 45,000Hz
• Coil impedance : 1.5Ω(DCR)　
• Cross Talk : more30dBdB(1kHz)
• Chanel balance : less 0.5db(1kHz)
• Magnet : Neodymium.＃50
• Stylus : semi-line contact stylus
• Cantilever : φ0.3ｍｍ　nude boron　（3Mm.m×30Mm.m）
• Terminal : Rhodium Plating
• Weight : 9g

The MUTECH RM-KANDA HAYABUSA is available now, and sells in Australia for $6,990 RRP.

For more information visit MUTECH