Mutech - Hayate Yokeless Ring Magnet MC Cartridge

The Mutech Hayate is the newest ring-magnet cartridge, and the most refined ever made.  Numerous small changes have been made.  The result is greater continuity, being able to follow musical lines with ease, but without the aggression of most “highly detailed” cartridges.  You hear everything, but it is connected and organic.

The Hayate continues the trend of healthy output with very low source impedance.  The lower the impedance, the less inherent noise is generated.  Johnson–Nyquist noise (also called thermal noise), increases as the impedance increases.  For ultimate fidelity, the cartridge, cables/leads, and input impedance of the phono stage should be as low as possible.

Release Notes from Mutech

Eiji Kanda, the founder of MUTECH, passed away in 2020. HAYATE is produced by Hiroki Kajihara of Kajihara Lab Co. who inheriting Mr. Kanda’s will and technical knowledge.  The cartridges are manufactured by Hiroko Ishiyama according Eiji Kanda’s Blueprint.

The Ring Magnet Structure is not the Ortofon type Magnet Structure which has the core material placed in a virtual magnetic field created by two yokes. A Ring Magnet structure has the core material placed inside the magnetic field produced by a tubular neodymium magnet.

Our special core material named “SS-μM”, is placed inside an N50 magnet, one of the strongest magnetic materials made, maximizing output of the core material.  Additionally, we plated the magnetic materials with gold to prevent oxidation and deterioration of the magnetic circuit.

The cantilever is boron, and the stylus tip is a line contact needle.  A new thicker OFC material has been adopted for the coil, and by using a single-layer winding, inductance has been minimized for improved high frequency performance.  Single-layer windings also prevent capacitive coupling between winding turns, preventing changes in frequency response.

The cartridge pin construction was reviewed and new OFC  materials from Proterial Metals, Ltd has been adopted. The pin plating has been reviewed and has changed from rhodium to gold plating.  This gold plating by Cross Point Ltd. is special thick one.  Gold has lower resistance than rhodium, and is a better choice since almost all cartridge clips are gold plated. Whenever possible, it is better when both connections are made of the same material.

A new, dedicated solder was developed for connecting the terminals and coil lead wires, which has also succeeded in improving the dynamic range and low-frequency reproduction.  This solder allows good connections to the gold plated surfaces without “gold poisoning” of the solder joint.

Note from the importer:
This cartridge compares favorably with the very best available, regardless of price.  Beyond a certain point, price has more to do with marketing and profit margins for dealers, than performance.  Could we ask $20,000?  We could, but the people who make cartridges would like to make a living too!

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/mutech-hayate-cartridge-preliminary-impressions

Specifications:

Transducer: yokeless ring magnet type MC cartridge
Output voltage: 0.45mV (1kHz 3.45cm/sec)
Appropriate needle pressure range: 1.8-2.0g
Playback frequency range: 10-45,000Hz
Internal impedance (not resistance): 1.75Ω
Crosstalk: 30dB or more (1kHz)
Channel balance: 0.5dB or less (1kHz)
Stylus tip: line contact
Cantilever: φ0.3mm solid boron
Terminal pin: OFC copper with special thick gold plating.
Weight: 7.4g