Koetsu Urushi Black
The Koetsu Urushi Black pairs lush, smooth musicality with rich yet controlled bass, lifelike vocals and a finely shimmering top end. Home Theater Review admired its silent backgrounds and nuanced retrieval, while Marc Phillips found the matching transformer unlocks a more open, immediate and spacious presentation. Its hand-lacquered body makes this a deeply involving analogue statement.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
93/100
Build Quality
88/100
Features Usability
84/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Rich, controlled bass, an exceptionally lifelike midband and expressive vocal reproduction.
Exceptionally quiet groove performance, with surface noise pushed further behind the music.
Delivers a lush, smooth and emotionally absorbing presentation with strong musical nuance.
Cons
Its substantial weight may leave limited counterweight adjustment range on some tonearms.
Reaching its most open and immediate performance benefits from careful phono-stage matching or the costly dedicated Koetsu step-up transformer.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 93/100
The Urushi Black is praised for an unusually lifelike, rich and emotionally involving presentation, combining tight bass, a vivid midband and a charmingly shimmering treble. It also appears notably quiet in the groove, with strong retrieval of musical nuance and a clearer, more present spatial perspective when partnered with the matching step-up transformer.
Overall Sound
95/100
Home Theater Review called the Urushi Black one of the most musical and "right" cartridges it had used, praising rich-yet-tight bass and a midband as lifelike as virtually any it had heard. Part Time Audiophile likewise describes its lush, smooth delivery as glorious and enduringly magical, while the copper-wound version is said to bring greater dynamics.
Tracking Retrieval
92/100
The review found no records that upset tracking across a demanding review schedule, and says the cartridge reveals nuances that distinguish real instruments from recordings. Both reviews also highlight very quiet groove behavior: backgrounds were described as deathly silent, while surface noise was pushed further away from the music.
Soundstage Imaging
88/100
Part Time Audiophile hears less haze and a more naked, honest and present presentation with the Koetsu step-up transformer in place. It also reports that surface noise recedes further into the soundstage, helping preserve the sense of recorded space, though the supplied reviews give limited detail on stage width and image precision.
FEATURES USABILITY PERFORMANCE 84/100
Tonearm compatibility / system fit.
Tonearm Compatibility
84/100
Its shape is described as easy to align, and the recommended 1.8-2.0g tracking-force range is straightforward for a high-end moving-coil cartridge. However, its roughly 12g installed weight can place some tonearm counterweights near the back of their travel, while the 0.4mV output and recommended loading call for a capable MC phono stage or suitable step-up transformer.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
88/100
The Urushi Black uses a substantial alloy body finished in hand-applied urushi lacquer, giving it the distinctive artisanal construction associated with this model. Its boron cantilever, silver-plated copper coils and Permendur magnet indicate a carefully specified moving-coil design, although the reviews provide little commentary on long-term durability.
Value for Money
85/100
At a current listed price range of roughly $5,100-$8,695, the Urushi Black is a substantial luxury purchase. Part Time Audiophile places it in a distinctive position among cartridges competing at five-figure prices, but the supplied reviews do not directly argue that it is a bargain or explicitly justify its asking price against named rivals.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
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Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Specification
- Urushi Lacquered Rosewood Body
- Specification
- Silverplated Copper Coil Wiring
- Specification
- Permendur Magnet
- Specification
- Boron Cantilever
- Specification
- 0.4 mV Output
- Specification
- 9.37g Net Weight
- Specification
- Recommended Tracking Force 1.8-2.0g
- Specification
- Recommended Load 75-500 ohms
Manufacturer's Description — Koetsu
The Japanese art of Urushi is a tradition dating back 10,000 years. This natural lacquer is sourced from the caustic sap of the indigenous Urushi trees. The Urushi is applied by the hands of select Japanese artisans. Once the lacquer cures it hardens around the natural rosewood body changing its resonant frequency.
All Koetsu Urushi models use silver cladded ultra-high purity copper coils. This process involves a silver sheath being slowly drawn over the copper.
Many say the Urushi body Koetsus offer an even more exciting sonic signature compared to the standard Rosewood models.
"The music was so captivating and involving that time became irrelevant and the music was everything." 10Audio.com
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- In Living Stereo — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- Resolution A/V — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- A 10 Audio Room 4 Music — in-store — Amsterdam Nieuw-West, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (website)
- Absolute Sounds — in-store — London, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Alen Audio — in-store — Extramurs, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- American Sound — in-store — Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Ana Mighty Sound — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
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