Noriyuki Miyajima has earned a worldwide reputation for his superb artisanal phono cartridges; you might recall the Saboten L that uses a cactus spine as its cantilever. Today we bring you news of the Infinity Mono.

The Infinity Mono is Miyajima's new top monaural model and brings further enhancements to the brand's Zero monaural cartridge, which is already considered as one of the most excellent cartridges by many.

Compared to the Zero, the Inifinity is both larger and heavier. The new unit also sports an optimised the single-coil generator. The result is a sizeable cartridge, at 24mm wide by around 28mm deep and weighing in at just shy of 15g. Miyajima says that, even with such a substantial body, the Infinity delivers a wonderfully nimble and lively sound.

Furthermore, Miyajima mono cartridges are true mono designs, which are mechanically different from a stereo cartridge. Real mono cartridges operate in the lateral plane only, with no vertical compliance. This insensitivity to vertical movement manifests as very low groove noise, as well as highly faithful tracking of the groove modulations. In contrast, many other mono cartridges are modified stereo designs that have some degree of vertical compliance so that they will pick up vertical groove movement.

Finally, the Infinity Mono features Miyajima's vertical axis concentration moving coil generator system, which ensures that the cartridge responds accurately to the horizontal modulation of a mono signal. It is designed from the ground up for mono only replay, to deliver a full-bodied and supremely musical sound.

Infinity Mono Versions

With a 1.0 mil conical stylus, suitable for broader groove mono records made from a stamper cut with a true mono cutting stylus (typically mono recordings made from the late 1940s to the late 1960s).

With a 0.7 mil conical stylus, suitable for mono records made from a stamper cut with a stereo cutting stylus (generally mono recordings created from the late 1960s, including most modern mono reissues).

If you're planning to play records from both periods, the 0.7 mil stylus is recommended although both styli will play all mono recordings - and far better than any stereo cartridge.

Like every single Miyajima cartridge, the Infinity Mono is crafted entirely in-house in Japan by Miyajima's small, dedicated team.

Price and availability

The Miyajima Infinity monaural phono cartridge is available now, to order, priced at £2,725 (including VAT).

For more information, go to Miyajima.

Tech Spec