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From my private collection,Koetsu Black MC Moving Coil Cartridge.One of the best-sounding cartridges I have kept for years.Now asking price only $1880.This cartridge is in very good operational and cosmetic condition, the sound is beautiful, detailed and dynamic, the stylus still sharp, cantilever and suspension is also in excellent condition. Used under 250 hours.For many, their Koetsu journey starts with the Black. While it is the most affordable Koetsu, it doesn’t sacrifice what makes a Koetsu special. The Black uses many of the same parts as the higher end models and the result is effortless musicality and magic.More like a character out of a Haruki Murakami novel than a real person, Koetsu’s founder Yoshiaki Sugano was known to be a sword maker and a boxer thought to have never lost a fight, this before apparently going down for the count in the executive trenches of mega corp Toyota for several decades. It was there that a fascination with the electro-mechanical playback of vinyl LPs took hold. Sugano-san regularly dissected broken European and Japanese moving-coil cartridges before continuing on with building his own designs following his retirement from the automaker in the late ‘60s. Naming his company after distant relative Honami Koetsu – a 17th century ceramic artist and calligrapher – Sugano crafted cartridges from rare stone and wood, always true to his own ear in their voicing. Early work consisted of an Onyx and Rosewood model before the introduction of the aforementioned lower-priced Black around 1980.From a review in Stereophile by Art Dudley:"At the very least, Koetsus were the very first artisanal phono pickups to make an impression on the American and English hi-fi scenes. As such, and regardless of who came first—a question that probably can't be answered—Koetsu paved the way for all other such things, including the Kiseki, the Kondo, the Miyabi, and the delightfully named Goldbug.Koetsu cartridges are made in small quantities by Fumihiko Sugano—the son of Koetsu's founder, the late [Yoshiaki Sugano]. The elder Sugano, who came and went with the 20th century, created the basic Koetsu cartridge design, pioneering the use of high-purity metals in particular, and naming the company after his ancestor and role model, the 16th-century artisan Honami Koetsu."StereophilePHONO CARTRIDGE REVIEWS:Please watch the YouTube videos:Specifications:Power generation method: MCOutput voltage: 0.4 mVAppropriate stylus pressure: 1.8-2.0g (standard)Internal impedance: 5.5ΩNeedle tip shape: Line contact needleCantilever: BoronOwn weight: 10.2 gCoil wire: High-purity copperMagnet: neodymiumBody: Hard AluminumRecommended Load: 75-500 ohmsOriginal price: $3300This cartridge comes with Original wood box, Specifications paper, tool and screws.I have sold a lot of cartridges and got a lot of good feedback, please check them out.And please take a look my other items.Thanks!WayneWayne's Audio
Generating expert take…
Koetsu traces its origins to Japan in the late 1960s, founded by Yoshiaki Sugano, a remarkable polymath whose background as a boxer, artist, sword maker, and automotive executive fueled his passion for analog audio. Named after the 17th-century artist Honami Koetsu—a distant relative or inspiration—Sugano dissected existing phono cartridges to pioneer high-purity materials like 6N copper coils and rare platinum-iron magnets, driven by his love of Western classical music. He hand-built the first models, such as the Onyx, Rosewood, and Black, retiring from his Toyota/Ford career to perfect their musicality. Sugano passed away in 2002 at age 94, passing the craft to his son Fumihiko, who continued the tradition until his own recent passing, after which the family ceased production.
The brand focuses exclusively on handcrafted moving-coil phono cartridges, blending technical excellence with natural beauty through exotic bodies of stone, rare woods, and Urushi-lacquered finishes. Each cartridge features advanced components like boron cantilevers, line-contact diamond styli, samarium-cobalt magnets, and silver-clad copper windings, all voiced to Sugano's exacting standards on vintage turntables like the Garrard 401. Limited in quantity and available only through select retailers, these sonic masterpieces prioritize vinyl playback refinement over broader categories like amplifiers or speakers.
Koetsu commands reverence in the ultra-high-end market as the pinnacle of cartridge artistry, cult-favored for their poetic tonal delicacy, harmonic resolution, ethereal treble, and authoritative bass—qualities that redefined luxury analog in the 1970s at prices like $800 per unit. Though production has ended, originals remain legendary collector icons, blending generational Japanese craftsmanship with emotional fidelity that divides yet captivates discerning audiophiles.
See all Koetsu listings on RADAR.
audio-markt.de
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