Koetsu Urushi

I am not sure about the MC carts but well reg. the MM kind that bent cantilevers can be corrected by Axel (www.schallplattennadeln.de). That is to say if the suspension is the cause. He corrected my AT 180 and Astatic MF 200 already (+/-40 Euro).

Do the following:
- Open your Window
- Grab the Koetsu
- Throw it out
- Close the Window
- Relax
- Feel good
- Make yourself a nice cup of Tea, open Audiogon and look for
something serious

or

When you have an Audiophile in your area, you really hate, deep from the
heart, give it to him as a Present.
But he has to listen to it day by day for minimum 2 years :-)

What a pity for this well thought out but cruel condition:
to listen for a minimum of 2 years. Otherwise I would offer
my self as a voluntary receiver and list the Koetsu
involved on the A'gon market the next day.

I would recommend a Shure M95ED. The M95ED cartridge has the added bonus of the Side-Guard Stylus Protection System which responds to accidental side thrusts on the stylus by withdrawing the entire shank and tip safely into the stylus housing before damage can occur.
If you want something a little better try the GRADO DJ-200. This is a DJ cartridge based on the Prestige series and stylus replacement is $120/pr.
If you want to go more European, the latest buzz is the Tonar Baktrak DJ Mix phono cartridge, conventional mounting version of their famous Tonar Banana DJ Disco phono cartridge.
Any of these should be robust, sound good and stylus replacement is a modest cost and DIY.

I bought one of the original Koetsu Rosewood cartridges. I got it for $50, because they thought the cantilever was off. I can't be sure of this, but is it possible that Koetsu uses a method of fine-tuning the cartridge, which can result in what looks like an off-center cantilever? Mine played beautifully(I don't think it had ever been used, based on their [Audible Difference] microscope.).