Koetsu Urushi Cartridges - Differences?

A further question regarding Kurt_tank's post...I have heard that the older models of Koetsu cartridges are sought out by audiophiles. Are these actually better performers, having superior construction and fidelity , or is this just part of the audiophile mystique? Comments, please?

The urushi is made from a rosewood body and coated with a lacquer derived from tree sap. It is an ancient japanese art form and is also used to decorate pens, etc.

Sonically, all three urushi's are identical, differing only in the type of lacquer used.
Gold-gold with gold flakes(the most expensive to produce)
Black- black lacquer base with gold flakes(my favorite)
Red-solid red lacquer

The urushi is sonically at the top of the non-platinum magnet Koetsu's (black,rosewood,rosewood signiture). You can at some latter date have a urushi rebuilt with the innards of any of the platinum magnet models however the output drops from 0.6 to 0.2mv thus your phono stage has to be up to the challange.

I have never heard an old koetsu so I can't comment.

Kurt_tank, this link should help answer your question:

http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~angmelvin/Range.html

Fatparrot, the rosewood body is said to sound sweeter with age. That is why many prefer a re-build to a new one. Here is another link that covers re-building:

http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~angmelvin/Rebuild.html

Hopefully this helps some.

Regards,
John