Did Koetsu Quality Decline with New Ownership

@mulveling What you need is non-industry hobbyists with experience in Koetsu to try the new ones. But good luck - the new prices are…MUCH higher. 

+1 Koetsu cartridges are relatively expensive, so chances of finding someone to purchase new to compare to old is slim to none.

@mulveling $8K for a Rosewood Sig (non-platinum) :(
I got a brand new Coralstone Platinum for $4800 circa 2018.

Wow- $4800 for  Corralstone, what a fantastic deal!

Seeking the most musical affordable cartridge, I purchased a Rosewood Sig Platinum. The Corralstone seemed like the most musical cartridge, but was out of my price range. But when Koetsu announced the discontinuing of the Corralstone, I panicked thinking that I may never hear this cartridge. Luckily I soon found a new Corralstone D for 10k…with a big dose of self rationalization to justify this unbudgeted purchase 🙄

This might provide some useful data points:

https://trackingangle.com/equipment/the-koetsu-onyx-platinum-cartridge

I have two Koetsus pre-dating the new ownership and have to say that the Blue Lace (paired with a Koetsu SUT) has been a dream come true. 

The fact that prices of cartridges peaks after a series of good reviews is not new.  Back when I worked in the high end industry, a solid positive review became a license to print money, so to speak.  Nothing new, 40 years later.

Let's face it, if your reading on Audiogon, you're more apt to buy something with solid, good reviews than something that doesn't review well. It doesn't have to be formal reviews from established magazines.  A few dozen positive posts on here will sell.

That's not a bad thing, reviews and webpage posts tend to keep manufacturers honest.