Koetsu is officially back in production!

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 

@ledoux1238 wrote:

"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."

No, Mishima's responsibility is to perform all building tasks.

In contrast, all of Lyra's conceptualizing and design tasks are my responsibility.

The sound of an upcoming cartridge model is first discussed between Mishima and myself, and subsequently brought to life by Mishima when he builds the first prototypes.

I and Stig Bjorge (Lyra CEO) play the prototypes and decide on how much the performance and sound should be changed. If the verdict is "not at all", then Mishima is informed that he can set this specification as the reference cartridge, and build all production cartridges like the prototype reference.
If there are areas of dissatisfaction we implement changes until the results are satisfactory.

Regarding the Delos and Kleos, the original goal was to entrust these totally to our junior builder, but in reality that goal has yet to be reached.
Mishima therefore remains very much involved with the final assembly, adjusting, testing, measuring and voicing of all Delos and Kleos, albeit to a lesser degree than with the Etna and Atlas.

PS. I presume that other manufacturers employ a similar process as Lyra, since no matter who the manufacturer is, all cartridges share a need for an engineering design (how does it work), a cosmetic design (how does it look and feel), a builder, and appropriate components made by capable subcontractors.

PPS. Conceptual designing, drafting blueprints / CAD work, and building are all separate fields that require different skill-sets. Manufacturers that have a dedicated designer and dedicated builder seem to be able to make more consistently innovative, technically interesting designs than manufacturers where a single individual both builds and designs, but there are notable exceptions like Osamu Ikeda, Akira Furuya; perhaps Jan Allearts.

@jcarr

Jonathan, The video that I referenced your speech was from Nov 2022 at the Audio Salon in Santa Monica. At the time, you indicated that there was some division of labor between the production of the 'higher' and 'lower' models. Of course as you wrote just  now that goal has yet to come to past.  I was very much impressed with your introduction to the workings of Lyra. I got a very clear sense of  what your role is vs Mishima's. And there seemed to be a veil that lifted after listening to you wrt to the world of exotic cartridge making.

What would you say was the working method of  Koetsu under  Yoshiaki Sugano? And then again was it diffferent under Fumihiko? More Jan Allearts or more like Lyra? If my questions are in bad form, then please ignore. But curious minds would like to know!