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Serious contender for world’s finest cartridge Simply astonishing performance from this extremely highly regarded mc cartridge Current retail £8000
Condition is unknown, so the price is doing the heavy lifting here — at £5,450, this sits just under the £5,462 25th percentile and below the £5,473 median from your recent GBP comparables. That makes it a genuine bargain, not just a fair ask.
This is a well-regarded low-output MC with a boron cantilever and very fine top-end extension, so the appeal is obvious if you have the right phono stage and like a cartridge that can do air, resolution, and image focus. At this level, the main thing to confirm is practical use condition: stylus hours, alignment history, and whether any original packaging or accessories are included, because those details matter more than usual on a cartridge this costly.
Independent perspective — not a price guarantee. Always verify condition, accessories and provenance before purchase.
Murasakino is a Japanese audio specialist established in Kyoto in 2014, with the brand name taken from the Murasakino district where it was founded. Publicly available company information points to Mr. Daisuke Asai as the founder, and the brand leans into the cultural meaning of “murasaki” as violet or purple, a motif that appears in its product identity.
The company is best known for phono cartridges, especially moving-coil designs such as the Sumile series. Its catalog is narrow and focused rather than broad, with the cartridge line positioned around analog playback and vinyl-front-end performance. Available sources do not show Murasakino as a maker of amplifiers, speakers, DACs, or headphones; it appears to be a cartridge-first brand.
In the market, Murasakino sits firmly in the niche high-end segment. Reviews and retail listings place its cartridges in serious audiophile territory, with pricing and positioning consistent with reference-grade analog components rather than mainstream hi-fi. It is the kind of brand that appeals to committed vinyl listeners, cartridge enthusiasts, and buyers looking for boutique Japanese craftsmanship rather than mass-market value.
See all Murasakino Cartridges listings on RADAR.
