Upgrade from Sumiko Blue Point #2

So there you are agrippa. Humans are dishonest especially when money is involved. Yankee6000 I still think the Ortofon Quintet Black S is worth the stretch but if you have to stay below $800 the AT33Sa is a very reasonable choice. You should be able to get way more than 1500 hours out of a stylus. I have never lost a cartridge due to stylus wear and I look at them routinely with a medical microscope. During the child years (20 years) I had the same cartridge a Sumiko Tallisman S. It finally died when one channel went out. A post mortem exam reveled that one of the wires from the right channel coil to the post had broken right at the coil. The stylus was in perfect shape. I go through a Projector bulb every three years at 2000 hours. I listen to way more music than I watch TV. So say I listen 4000 hours in three years and about 1/4 is vinyl vs digital. That means I had put around 6000 hours on one stylus. I think this is in keeping with what my audiophile friends get although now we all have several cartridges each. I think popular figures are lower because lower quality diamonds wear faster as will diamonds with smaller contact patches.The Tallisman had a Shibata Stylus on a Sapphire cantilever.
Point being that if you do a good job keeping things clean you amortize this investment over a longer period! 

For one thing, only a few companies in the world produce all the styli and cantilevers used anywhere, and none of those is in Germany, so far as I know.  But I was thinking of a specific instance where one Clearaudio model is a re-labeled Japanese cartridge, en bloc.  Sadly, I cannot recall which.  I'm sure some of the megabuck Clearaudio cartridges have a unique pedigree.

I wouldn't put money on it.  I read a post, an article or something of the kind (terrible memory, sorry) a good while back which went into great details as to where and by whom Clearaudio's cartridges are/were made.  Since my interest was lacklustre (I don't care for Clearaudio's cartridges at all) very little stuck, beyond the fact that many, most or all are/were indeed Japanese.
If I had to guess (which I don't, but I will) I'd say that Clearaudio's efforts likely extends to mounting the innards into the fancy bodies, which would be more than enough to allow a "Made in Germany" imprint to be added.

Yes, The styli and cantilevers are specified by the manufacturers and made by several companies many of them Japanese and perhaps Clearaudio cartridges are made in Japan just like all Lyra cartridges and we all know they suck:) Who cares. My comment was aimed at certain Japanese brands that in my opinion are made for profit and are not as good a value  in the $1000 price range as the Ortofon. I'll leave it to everyone to figure out who those brands are. I obviously have something against Japanese made cartridges because I own a Koetsu and a Lyra and love them both. I wish I had gotten a Transfiguration before the death of the designer/owner:(

Ok thanks for the feedback and information. I think I will be on the hunt for some some ortofon bronze and blacks. Also considering dynavetor 10x5 or 20x2. I hear they also are pretty good with soundstage detail and just a hint of sweetness. Don’t get too wrapped up in the Japan debate. Will be back to report on my purchase when it occurs. Thanks everyone.