Kiseki and Lyra Cartridge Dealers in Japan and Taiwan

By now I have owned so many cartridges that my memory is failing me.  (Plus, my memory is failing me anyway.) If I recall correctly, the Supex first hit the US market in the mid-1970s.  At that time, I think I was listening to a Grado TLZ.  As you intimated, the Supex was the first MC cartridge to come to the US, or very close to it. One needed a "pre-preamp" in order to step up the gain, because SUTs were not yet readily available.  I think that was the Mark Levinson JC-1. ("JC" being John Curl.)  My neighbor bought both a Supex and a JC-1, and I remember not being tempted to give up my Grado in order to make the leap.  The Supex seemed to homogenize complex musical passages.  But there are so many other possible explanations for what I heard that I would never insist that my observation was accurate.  And maybe the first version was just a Supex SD900, without the "Super E+".

Ooops!  I just thought of a reason why 2J might change the serial numbers:  To protect his source of ZYX cartridges.  This was already described by Viridian.

Thanks, V.  I am not in the market just now for any new/used cartridge.  My plate is full, for the moment.  What I would look for, if looking, is an original Purple Heart, from the good old days.  It's remarkable how much Kiseki's look like Koetsu's, which I guess fueled or fuels the idea that Sugano had a hand in both types.  I did know that he worked for Supex originally but had forgotten that little tidbit.  I never did like the original Supex cartridge very much; back then I felt without a doubt that my TOTL Grado outperformed it by a long shot.
Chakster, We've been over this ground before.  Assuming the ZYX cartridge you purchased from 2J was a "real" ZYX, what would he have to gain by faking the serial number?  That would seem like a lose/lose proposition for him.  In many if not most cases, at least in the US, the US distributors of high end audio goods will not want to honor the warranty on products purchased outside the US. Period.  So there's nothing to be gained by faking the SN; the warranty for a US purchaser of a new cartridge bought from 2J probably would not be honored, within the US, in any case.  Perhaps things are different in Russia.  Also, with whom did you inquire about the SN of your ZYX?  Did you contact the factory in Japan or what? Thanks.

Ok. I stand corrected in my understanding of the history.
Now where can one get a good deal on Kiseki?

In general, just walking around to the high end audio stores in Tokyo, you will find neither Koetsu nor Lyra cartridges for sale, on open display.  Whereas most good stores display dozens of other cartridges from a wide variety of well known brands that you can just buy, on the spot.  Off the top of my head, I would say the price differential between Tokyo and the US, for cartridges that are readily available in both locales, is from ~5% to 30%, cheaper in Japan. My hunch is that Lyra deliberately prevents local sale (i.e., in Tokyo or possibly throughout Japan), except perhaps by special order.  (I've never tried, so don't know.). Ten years ago, I was able to buy a Koetsu Urushi from a dealer in Tokyo, but I had to pay in advance and wait two weeks for delivery.  Also, I needed an interpreter in the person of my son, who lives in Tokyo and is fluent in Japanese; his help was essential, as the salespersons could speak virtually no English. The cost savings was vast, compared to US prices, which speaks to the up-charge incurred by the US distributor. 

Kiseki is another matter.  Although I always thought that Kiseki was a progenitor to Koetsu, designed by the elder Sugano-san before he formed Koetsu, I don't know what the situation is right now with respect to the revival of Kiseki.  I was in Tokyo in May, and although I did not spend a whole lot of time roaming in Akihabara (the electronics section of Tokyo and the electronics capitol of the world, IMO), I did not see Kiseki cartridges on sale.  On the other hand, I wasn't looking especially for Kiseki. You'd probably be better off in Hong Kong or using one of the Asian vendors on eBay.