Koetsu is officially back in production!

Kiseki came back under new auspices, albeit the new products are not as loved.  Why not Koetsu?  And why not Transfiguration, darnit?

Extremely grateful I snagged a Koetsu Corralstone D just before they were discontinued, this seemed like the most “musical” cartridge for my collection.  Debating in using a SUT which would also require a “voltage” phono as my transimpedience phono won’t suffice. 

I am sure you’ve seen this video of the making of Denon DL-103:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKDtNrN2jy8

What is surprising is that for a ‘high’ volume cartridge produced in a corporate environment, there is one woman and one only who handles the coil winding, the master coil winder.

On Lyra’s website, Johnathan Carr is credited as the, ‘ ‘conceptualizer’, and Yoshinori Mishima is the designer / master craftsman.  In a video with Carr as speaker, he actually presented the number of cartridges Lyra is capable of producing each month, and Yoshinori-San works only on the higher models. The Delos and Kleos  are left to junior craftsman. Both Denon and Lyra, as well as most other Japanese cartridge brands are quite transparent about the inner workings of their production. 
 

Koetsu has always maintained a sense of mystery. The Sugano masters were the sole craftsmen involved as the myth goes. We know nothing of the minions who toil behind the scene. However, I think it is typical for Japanese cartridge makers to have specialized craftsmen for different parts of the production. And with the new Koetsu production announced, the former Axiss Audio owner, Arturo Manzano, has basically outlined the obvious. There were craftsmen, other than the Suganos’, involved and he has managed to gather them to make what they had been making for decades. Whether it will be a ‘cash grab’ will depend on many things, most of all pricing. But I doubt the new products can be priced much higher than before. I don’t think I will have a problem buying the new Koetsus’. But most likely I would hunt down a used Vermillion. 

This  deserves discussion… of course, Sugano borrowed the Koetsu name from the artist HomAmi Koetsu his work also worthy of deep contemplation a browse while the US cleaner does it’s thing… so Sugano looked backwards and forewards… ( Philadelphia Museum of Art )

I count myself incredibly fortunate to have an Urishi Black in an all silver wire system… if you look at the effort Sugano put into the coil wire… it might make sense…

 As for the new Koetsu, offerings in my price range would get fair evaluation and consideration - the news makes me happy

Hon Ami Koetsu