Fidelix MITCHAKU Ceramic Headshells

The majority of existing headshells have a structure where only the top pin at the connection is pulled in when attaching to the tone arm, but this creates a gap on the bottom side, and if the gap is filled with a rubber ring, it will result in elastic merging, resulting in a dull sound. There will always be a gap at the connection, and even a gap of only 1 micron will affect the acoustics.

The Mitcheaku headshell has a seesaw structure in which the upper and lower pins pull in the horizontal pin placed between the upper and lower pins with equal force, enabling a tight connection to the tone arm without any gap. This allows the same rigidity as an arm with an integrated headshell, resulting in a solid sound quality. Correct horizontal alignment improves separation and reproduces a wide sound field.

The seesaw structure of the arm absorbs any error. This ensures that the ring part of the headshell and the ring part of the arm are perfectly aligned.

The ceramic material is alumina, a relative of ruby and sapphire. Even with ceramic, the longer the horizontal portion, the more likely it is to resonate, so the shape is kept to the minimum necessary. This is based on the direct teachings of Isamu Ikeda, the founder of FR and IKEDA, and the experience of the designer. The finger rest has a thickness of 2.5mm to prevent resonance. The lead wires are PCOCCA made of annealed PCOCC. The contact points with the arm are rhodium-plated for durability, and the angle of the headshell is adjustable.

MITCHAKU-A is a ceramic, aluminum intermediate fitting, MITCHAKU-S is a stainless steel intermediate fitting, and MITCHAKU-W is an angled headshell for SAEC's WE-8000/ST (substitute for SAEC's ULS-8X). The MITCHAKU-0 is a reversed version of this angle. This will give the effect of a pure straight arm even with a bent arm, but will fit if the arm mounting position can be moved backward about 30 mm. The slight difference in angles between arms is adjusted by the cartridge mounting angle.

MITCHAKU-A (upper left), MITCHAKU-S (upper right)
MITCHAKU-W on the lower left, MITCHAKU-0 on the lower right