The classic Koetsu: a natural rosewood body, a big, beautiful midrange and precise imaging.
The Rosewood Signature is the version of Koetsu's best-known design built with the most closely matched coil and core sets, which Koetsu says gives it sharper focus and a wider soundstage than the standard Rosewood. The body is natural rosewood. Inside are copper coils, a Permendur magnet assembly and a boron cantilever with a line-contact stylus. Koetsu was founded by Yoshiaki Sugano and carried on by his son Fumihiko; after Fumihiko's death in 2023 the brand was revived in 2025, with the original craftsmen and suppliers again building the cartridges by hand in Japan.
Dick Olsher at The Absolute Sound singled out its midrange, open and transparent with a full lower midrange, and found it close to neutral rather than warm, with smooth textures, tight, well-integrated bass and very focused imaging. He called it one of the easiest recommendations he had made. Stereophile's Alex Halberstadt found it lush and beautiful. At 0.4 mV and about 5 Ω it suits a quiet MC phono stage with about 60 dB of gain or more, or a step-up transformer, and a medium-mass tonearm.
| Type | Low-output moving coil (MC) |
| Output | 0.4 mV |
| Internal impedance | About 5 Ω |
| Recommended load | 75–500 Ω |
| Tracking force | 1.8–2.0 g |
| Weight | 9.18 g |
| Body | Natural rosewood |
| Coils | Copper, closely matched coil and core sets |
| Magnet | Permendur |
| Cantilever | Boron |
| Stylus | Line contact |
| Also available | Rosewood Signature Platinum (platinum magnet, silver-plated coils, 0.3 mV) |
Pearl Audio is an authorized Koetsu dealer. Call or visit our Portland showroom to talk about matching a cartridge to your tonearm and phono stage.
