Subharmonicon
pfm Member
I've read they have decided not to carry on the business or name? Anyone else have any information on what's going on
Koetsu?
- Thread starter Subharmonicon
- Start date
Subharmonicon
pfm Member
My next cartridge was gonna be a Koetsu too 
lencotweaker
Mostly dreaming of record players
Yes it was confirmed by Absolute Sounds at that Hifi show last weekend apparently.
There is no-one in the family to carry it on and the remaining sister, in her late 80’s did not want to sell it as they think Koetsu should only be a family business. So it will cease trading sadly.
There is no-one in the family to carry it on and the remaining sister, in her late 80’s did not want to sell it as they think Koetsu should only be a family business. So it will cease trading sadly.
Subharmonicon
pfm Member
I'm quite prepared to fly out to Japan and be taught how to do it 
Midlandaudiox
Trade: Midland Audio X-Change
It’s an Japanese honour thing
After great artisans pass out of respect the companies don’t produce anything for a time
Usually 12 months
But in the instance of Koetsu no one wants to pick up the baton
After great artisans pass out of respect the companies don’t produce anything for a time
Usually 12 months
But in the instance of Koetsu no one wants to pick up the baton
Wine Man
pfm Member
From the Koetsu FB group .. so please savour and cherish your Koetsu as they are now heirlooms from another era, on a brighter note Absolute Sounds have established an arrangement with a trusted Cartridge repairer/rebuilder who they can send cartridges to for quality work which will be returned with frequency response graphs after thorough testing.
RIP
I think I could hazard a guess who the rebuilder will be.
RIP
I think I could hazard a guess who the rebuilder will be.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
This was the case when Sugano San passed in the early noughties; his son took over but there was a hiatus in manufacture of a year or two.
Goldring?
I had dreams of attaining stone-bodied status after starting with a Black Goldline and progressing to a Urushi Vermillion (still in my drawer). Wonder if they'll become collector pieces, even more pricey than the astronomical sums they reached over the past 6, 7 or 8 years (£ depreciation?). Anyway, sad news following on from Transfiguration's demise a few years ago. I did notice many fewer eBay ad's from Japan these last few months.
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lencotweaker
Mostly dreaming of record players
Lyra/ScanTech I would assume. I think ScanTech did actually build them for a while and ISTR were also involved in servicing at some point.
lencotweaker
Mostly dreaming of record players
Like Kiseki?
Kiseki always amused me as they tried to hang on the coat tails of Koetsu's 'Japanese Mythical Artisanal' aesthetic, except it was a Dutch outfit. A bit like how the British high street 'Super Dry' clothes retailer associated themselves with 'Cool Japan', even though the company has nothing whatsoever to do with Japan really.
gez
pfm Member
Well it worked because it wasn't until recently that I actually realised they were British, I had always assumed it was a Japanse brand. Going purely by the lightweight windbreaker or mountaineering style jackets they first became popular with (or at least that was my perception of the brand at the time). Looking at their website now, it seems they do all kinds of different styles/products.
sktn77a
pfm Member
Highly unlikely!
vacuum_tubes
pfm Member
Wasn't that Dynavector, think they made the black mk2 after they got popular and Koetsu snr got overloaded with work.
Think from Red up they were always made in house.
Beobloke
pfm Member
That’s sad news - I’ve always had a soft spot for a Koetsu. I reviewed the Coralstone recently and it was a truly lovely thing.
However, the company was always a bit strange in some ways. They have no website of their own and different distributors’ websites across the world showed a completely different range of cartridges available when I was doing some research for the review. One distributor’s website even confidently asserted that the Coralstone was ‘discontinued’!
Even more strangely, DS Audio and Audio Technica have rightly made a big noise about their one piece diamond stylus and cantilever on various recent models. Turns out Koetsu have been offering this as a £4000 option on many of their cartridge models for the last 15 years or so, but they didn‘t exactly promote it.
However, the company was always a bit strange in some ways. They have no website of their own and different distributors’ websites across the world showed a completely different range of cartridges available when I was doing some research for the review. One distributor’s website even confidently asserted that the Coralstone was ‘discontinued’!
Even more strangely, DS Audio and Audio Technica have rightly made a big noise about their one piece diamond stylus and cantilever on various recent models. Turns out Koetsu have been offering this as a £4000 option on many of their cartridge models for the last 15 years or so, but they didn‘t exactly promote it.