From my private collection,


Koetsu Black MC Moving Coil Cartridge.


One of the best-sounding cartridges I have kept for years.

Now asking price only $1850.


This cartridge is in very good operational and cosmetic condition, the sound is beautiful, detailed and dynamic, the stylus still sharp, cantilever and suspension is also in excellent condition. Used under 200 hours.


For many, their Koetsu journey starts with the Black. While it is the most affordable Koetsu, it doesn’t sacrifice what makes a Koetsu special. The Black uses many of the same parts as the higher end models and the result is effortless musicality and magic.


More like a character out of a Haruki Murakami novel than a real person, Koetsu’s founder Yoshiaki Sugano was known to be a sword maker and a boxer thought to have never lost a fight, this before apparently going down for the count in the executive trenches of mega corp Toyota for several decades. It was there that a fascination with the electro-mechanical playback of vinyl LPs took hold. Sugano-san regularly dissected broken European and Japanese moving-coil cartridges before continuing on with building his own designs following his retirement from the automaker in the late ‘60s. Naming his company after distant relative Honami Koetsu – a 17th century ceramic artist and calligrapher – Sugano crafted cartridges from rare stone and wood, always true to his own ear in their voicing. Early work consisted of an Onyx and Rosewood model before the introduction of the aforementioned lower-priced Black around 1980.


From a review in Stereophile by Art Dudley:
"At the very least, Koetsus were the very first artisanal phono pickups to make an impression on the American and English hi-fi scenes. As such, and regardless of who came first—a question that probably can't be answered—Koetsu paved the way for all other such things, including the Kiseki, the Kondo, the Miyabi, and the delightfully named Goldbug.


Koetsu cartridges are made in small quantities by Fumihiko Sugano—the son of Koetsu's founder, the late [Yoshiaki Sugano]. The elder Sugano, who came and went with the 20th century, created the basic Koetsu cartridge design, pioneering the use of high-purity metals in particular, and naming the company after his ancestor and role model, the 16th-century artisan Honami Koetsu."


Please Check review:
Stereophile: PHONO CARTRIDGE REVIEWS:



Please watch the YouTube videos:
https://youtu.be/gWSRg4IEqS4
https://youtu.be/dwh3sYwf0xk


Specifications:

Power generation method: MC

Output voltage: 0.4 mV

Appropriate stylus pressure: 1.8-2.0g (standard)

Internal impedance: 5.5Ω

Needle tip shape: Line contact needle

Cantilever: Boron

Own weight: 10.2 g

Coil wire: High-purity copper

Magnet: neodymium

Body: Hard Aluminum

Recommended Load: 75-500 ohms

Original price: $3300


This cartridge comes with Original wood box, Specifications paper, tool and screws.


I have sold a lot of cartridges and got a lot of good feedback, please check them out.

And please take a look my other items.


Thanks!

Wayne
Wayne's Audio