Koetsu - Rosewood Signature Cartridge

A perennial favorite. Things come and go in the world of audio. There is a great reason why the Rosewood Signature has been around for decades; spellbinding sound. Many older audiophiles will tell you exact and specific details from their first encounter with a Rosewood Signature.

For decades, the Koetsu sound has been legend in audiophile lore. But only a proud few have owned and experienced the unequaled magic these hand-built cartridges evoke. Many of the converted search out second and third Koetsus. Why? Maybe it's time you hear for yourself.

To fully appreciate Koetsu, we must know Yosiaki Sugano, an artist, musician, swordsman, calligrapher, business executive and creator of the world's most renowned phono cartridges. Certainly a well-rounded man, Sugano rose to prominence in one of Japan's largest industrial companies in the postwar years, yet continued to pursue his passions, now including hi-fi. 

In the 1970s, Sugano began to experiment with phono cartridges by substituting his own parts in commercially available models. His keen ear and deductive reasoning, combined with an artist's sensibilities, led to the creation of what would become a legend in audio. Sensing the moment, Sugano named his cartridge after his hero, Koetsu. 

Sugano's quest led him to enlist universities, specialized industries and master craftspeople to create the special parts to go into his masterpieces. One of the first to use 4 nines copper (99.99% pure), curent production uses 6 nines copper (99.9999% pure). Platinum signature models feature silver cladding of the 6 nines copper, a process where a silver sheath is slowly drawn over the copper conductor. 

Ultra-pure iron square plate formers were sourced for their most predictable magnetic characteristics and lowest oxidation. Pre-aged to the perfect consistency, rubber suspension parts are sourced under license with a rubber damper manufacturer. Special magnetic materials, including Alnico have been featured. Today, samarium-coblalt is used with platinum magnets reserved for the flagship models. Japanese craftsmen carve the rosewood bodies, lacquer coat the Urushi bodies, or cut stone for the onyx Platinum. Styli are specially designed and precision ground for Koetsu.

The Koetsu Rosewood is a cornerstone of high-performance analog playback history. By carefully selecting ultra high purity materials and aging parts to perform optimally, Sugano-san formed a cartridge that recreates real breathing music extracted from the grooves of your record collection.  

The Rosewood Signature uses the most tightly matched coil and core sets offering more precise focus and a larger soundstage than the Rosewood Standard. 

“Listening to the Rosewood Signature was an addictive experience. It became difficult to curtail a listening session as there was always one more album I had to spin. It’s the cartridge I could happily live with for years to come. This is one of the easiest recommendations I’ve ever made, in essence a gift for the music lover who would like to kick back at the end of a long day and just enjoy the music. I think this is what Sugano-san had in mind all along.”

Dick Olsher
The Absolute Sound
#295, July/August 2019
Rosewood Signature

Specifications

Natural Rosewood Body
Copper Coil Wiring
Permendur Magnet
Boron Cantilever
0.4 mV Output
5 Ohm Internal Impedance
9.18g Net Weight
Recommended Tracking Force 1.8-2.0g
Recommended Load 75-500 ohms