Головки звукоснимателя — Koetsu Azule

The Azule is a stone-bodied MC cartridge from Koetsu of Japan, a brand whose pickups were first developed by Sugano-san in the late 1970s and are now hand made by Fumihiko Sugano, who represents the second generation of the family. Its housing is machined from dumortierite, a blue semiprecious mineral, and it is one of five stone models in the current catalogue next to the Rhodonite, the Blue Lace, the Onyx Platinum and the Tigereye Platinum.

Key specs that matter

Output is 0.3 mV, with an internal impedance of 5 ohm. Frequency range is given as 20 Hz to 100 kHz, channel separation as 25 dB at 1 kHz and channel balance as 0.5 dB at 1 kHz. Compliance is 5 x 10-6 cm/dyne at 100 Hz. Tracking force should sit between 1.8 and 2.0 g, with loading anywhere from 75 to 500 ohm. The cartridge weighs 13 g. Its generator pairs a platinum magnet with silver-plated copper windings on a boron cantilever.

Engineering and use context

Every piece of stone is picked by hand for the quality of its grain and then hand polished, so no two bodies look exactly alike. Among the stone family the weights differ slightly - Blue Lace, Tigereye Platinum and Onyx Platinum each weigh 12.5 g, while Rhodonite reaches 13.5 g - yet all of them share the same output and the same tracking force window. Inside, Koetsu fits tightly matched coil sets wound with silver-sheathed copper, a wiring choice shared with the other stone models and with most of the lacquered Urushi group. Every Koetsu carries a custom variation of a line contact stylus produced to Sugano-san's specification by the Japanese specialist Ogura, and a classic magnetic circuit built around a traditional yoke. Beyond this stone group, only the Rosewood Signature Platinum gets a platinum magnet, whereas the entry models use samarium cobalt. Koetsu retired two other stone versions, Jade Platinum and Coralstone, in 2022. Sugano-san's workshop rebuilds used Koetsu pickups in a process lasting two or three months. Buyers wanting a harder cantilever material may specify diamond in place of boron, an option priced at roughly EUR 4,000.

Pairing

The Azule delivers less signal than the wooden and aluminium models, so it needs an MC preamp offering generous amplification or a step-up device, while the low coil impedance works comfortably inside the recommended loading window. The medium-low compliance and the heavy body point to an arm with medium or higher effective mass that can balance a heavy cartridge, and the arm's counterweight should be checked for enough range before installation.

Alternatives

For a different mineral, the Koetsu Onyx Platinum combines an onyx stone housing with a platinum magnet, silver-plated copper coils and the same output.