A small revolution at Etsuro, a brand of the Excel Sound group, which is releasing its first non ‘Urushi’ cartridge.
Named Gin-nezu (literally “silver-gray”), this cartridge largely retains the same specifications as the Urushi Cobalt (nearly twice as expensive), but features a boron cantilever with a diameter of 0.28 mm. Although already considered high-end, this material had not yet been used by the brand, which had opted for sapphire on the Cobalt and Bordeaux models and pure diamond on the Gold.
The chassis, made of A7075 super-duralumin, remains unchanged from the three existing models, but it is no longer coated with Urushi lacquer, as the Gin-nezu features a matte silver-gray finish. The 80-μm microline shaped diamond stylus remains the same as that found on the two higher-end series, with a tracking force still rated at 70 μm at 2 g.
And while the connectors are also in rhodium-plated, the coils in this MC (Moving Coil) cartridge have been redesigned, as the internal impedance rises to 5 Ω—a value that remains very low, but 1 Ω higher than the Gold (4 Ω) and 2 Ω higher than the Cobalt and Bordeaux (3 Ω!), while the channel separation boasts an excellent value of 30 dB (compared to 33 dB for the others).
Having already passed through our hands, this Etsuro Gin-nezu cartridge manages to retain the musicality and soundstage depth of the Etsuro Urushi, while offering a reduced price of 2 490 €. We’ll tell you more about it in detail very soon in a review!
