Expectations were high. On the way to the island was a fairly new analog component—the Analog Relax EX1000 MC Phono Cartridge—a heavy hitter by price and reputation. The EX1000 is a handmade wood-body cartridge from Japan, priced at an eye-watering USD 17,750.

Analog Relax is a Japanese artisanal company manufacturing a line of moving coil cartridges and analog accessories. The company was founded by Yasushi Yurugi in 2016. It is manufactured under the auspices of Zoot Communications. Yurugi is a big Zoot Sims fan. Soon after graduating from art school, he played various instruments in Kyoto clubs, including Zoot’s axe of choice, the tenor sax. Before founding Analog Relax, he worked in design, product development and marketing.

So, how do we draw a line from art school and gigging on the tenor sax to producing intricate and very expensive moving coil phono cartridges? The website explains a little, but it does not explain the direct correlation between his work history and a seat at a design bench.

With typical idiosyncratic translation from Japanese to English, Yurugi explains:

I never doubt that records have the best sound quality for listening to music, and I live with a collection of several thousand records and eight turntables.

I am currently developing products that solve the difficulties associated with living an analog record life and delivering them as products to fans of analog records around the world.

The Analog Relax products that I produce are made with care by wonderful Japanese craftsmen.

I do not only pursue materials and performance but also give top priority to making you happy when you use my products.

I would be very happy if you like Analog Relax products.

So, I’m not sure if Yurugi-san has the big vision and hired very well or has a hand in complicated electrical and mechanical engineering. Either way, in the EX1000, he/they have produced an absolute stunner of a moving coil phono cartridge.

“The Sensual Reverberations Created by 2,000 Years Old YAKUSUGI Cedar”

Oh my!

The EX1000 is second from the top of the Analog Relax line: 300, 500, 1000, and 2000. The last two are made with exotic wood bodies said to create “sensual reverberations.”

The EX1000 cartridge body is made from Yakusugi Cedar, which has “highly dense wood grains due to life in harsh weather conditions and allows it to create an organic sound.” Much like old-growth grapevines planted at an acute angle on a steep hill, the always struggling vines produce very intense flavours. I’m guessing the cedar struggles and produces the same intensity under the bark. They grow in a harsh environment at a high elevation on Yakushima Island, which has a 10,000 mm annual rainfall. As such, the Yakusugi rings are only 1 to 2 mm wide due to their very slow growth cycle. Interestingly, the trees produce a resin to protect themselves from excess moisture. The wood purchased by Yurugi at auction is from felled trees; no new logging is allowed and it is now a protected species.

As for this amazing natural product’s effect on the cartridge’s sound:

Research on tonewoods, wood used for musical instruments like violins or guitars (and flutes and piccolos), has shown that the speed at which sound travels through the wood, as well as the resin and other materials within the wood, affect the resultant sound.

Wood cells are made of cellulose, but when dried, the water inside the cells evaporates, creating countless natural cavities.

Cell walls contain lignin and resins that bind the cellulose together and keep it strong. These components absorb vibrations, creating various acoustic effects that vary depending on the type of wood.

I can attest with my previous wood body cartridges and even more so playing handmade wooden flutes and piccolos (primarily African Blackwood and Grenadilla) how much a wood body affects the timbre and the aural feature set. I assume Yakusugi Cedar does the same for the EX1000. The top Analog Relax cart, the EX2000, uses wood from the same Tyrolean Spruce forests Antonio Stradivari harvested his wood.

The Analog Relax EX1000 doing some heavy sledding on my new Pure Fidelity Symphony Turntable and Pure Fidelity Savant Ti Tonearm. A heaven-sent combination.

My Use

First, my thanks to North American importer Angie Lisi of American Sound Distribution for entrusting me with such a valuable, delicate cartridge and for shipping it across the country.

Much like the IKEDA Kai review and the forthcoming Air Tight PC-1 Supreme review, the special guest EX1000 was treated well with matched, high-quality ancillaries. The gorgeous Yakusugi nugget was installed (installation is very straightforward) on my new Pure Fidelity Symphony Turntable and Pure Fidelity Savant Ti Tonearm (USD 22,000 with arm). It was amplified by the Phasemation EA-350 Phono Amplifier (USD 6400) and IKEDA’s IST-201 Step-Up Transformer (USD 5400). The cabling was Ansuz Acoustics C2 Signalz Interconnect Tonearm (€6400.000/2 metres).

Specifications

Coil: High purity 6N copper

Body: 2,000 years old YAKUSUGI cedar (beeswax finish)

Cantilever: Ruby

Stylus: Super Curve Line Contact Ver. 2 (Pure diamond)

Electric output: Over 0.5mv (1kHz)

Internal impedance: 15Ω

Tracking force: 2.0g

Magnet: Neodymium multi magnet

Weight: about 9.0g

Loading: not specified. My Phasemation EA-350 is wired at 100 Ohms. Sounded fine to me.

Sound

As with all the luxurious Japanese carts under review this year, my expectations were exceptionally high. At a whopping USD 17,750, I must admit that I had no idea what to expect, let alone describe the whispers I’d heard about it.

My questions were answered quickly on the first side played, a very rare French CBS LP from 1971 of violinist Hermann Oehler and pianist Georg Heim playing Beethoven violin sonatas. Within the first several bars of the Kreutzer Sonata, I had an involuntary muscle reaction—I went weak at the knees. The tone of the violin was so magical, so natural and lifelike, it took my breath away. Oehler’s sound was so centred and his vibrato so intense that it unnerved me. I expected a beautiful violin tone from hearing the LP with other luxury Japanese carts, but much like two other components I’ve reviewed (the Symphony and my BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers), the EX1000 went beyond notes and phrases to the ethereal, the unspoken—to the music, described by Issac Stern as, “the sound between the notes.” Nothing was escaping this cartridge.

Something was sent to me through the cartridge that created an unexpected physical sensation (experienced when someone is overcome with strong emotions or excitement). A first in my component listening; I’ve had it before in live shows, but never in an audiophile setting.

The sensation passed quickly, but the musical effect remained. The EX1000 gave the violin life, a naturalness of sound with a harmonic richness that musicians experience playing in close proximity to a fine violinist. Resin on the bow, bow preparation, bow technique, violin quality and violin construction all come into play. The Analog Relax passed the opening gambit with flying, kaleidoscopic colours.

More surprises of the most intensely pleasurable kind were heard when listening to an original narrow band, Decca Suite Española, piano music by Isaac Albéniz arranged for orchestra by the conductor Rafael Frühbeck De Burgos. Played brilliantly by the New Philharmonia Orchestra and recorded in 1967 at Kingsway Hall by Kenneth Wilkinson, the top end, at least on the narrowband, can be a little tizzy; lots of treble information, even on my $9600 IKEDA Kai. The orchestra’s treble energy was tamed by the Analog Relax. No detail was lost; in fact, some new information was revealed to me, but all the tessituras were in perfect harmony. The effect was a rush.

Capriccio Espagnol on Side 2 of LSC-2298 (Borodin Symphony No. 2 on Side 1) had weight and solidity, with perfectly defined double basses. The Kingsway recording also had a sparkling treble with super clear woodwind articulation. Every orchestral layer was perfectly balanced as if you were on the podium. The way the cartridge unravels these layers is wonderful, and you’ll understand just how many different instrumental timbres there are. Even fine cartridges can’t decipher every variable in a player’s tone and execution. Not so the EX1000. And imaging is crackerjack. Pinpoint. But made even more effective because of the incredible display of the individual player’s tonal characteristics (flute, oboe, clarinet and horn and trombone, in particular).

And I loved the way the cartridge had its way with voices. Nothing Elizabeth Schwarzkopf attempted in Strauss’s Four Last Songs (EMI) escaped the AR; she has a habit of spreading her vowels to focus the emotion. It’s there. I’ve heard it on other wonderful carts, but the EX1000 captured the musical intent of this great artist. And when she lets rip with her massive chest tone (which is very difficult to record), no worries for the 1000. Perfect placement, incredible volume and power, and it tracked perfectly, even when at fff during the final grooves.

Because the output is fairly high at 0.5 mV compared to my reference, I had to watch the volume. My focus was sometimes interrupted by a controlled blast. As such, Belafonte got a little shouty on Belafonte Sings The Blues, but then his accompaniment responded with such rhythmic vitality any perceived imbalance was forgotten (this may have been an artifact of break-in). I’ve never heard Belafonte’s voice sound so expressive.

Even more impressive was how the EX1000 controlled the very reverberant acoustic of an empty Concertgebouw—it matched my previous reference, the super focussed Phasemation PP-2000 (and better than my IKEDA Kai), but with much more inner detail (snare drum rolls and very quiet detached notes on the violins). Then, when the string choir unison is engaged in full flower by Tchaikovsky, you hear the accompanying tuba doubling the strings in its unique sounding high register.

I heard some remarkable things when listening to the only audiophile original vinyl of Mahler Symphony No. 6 available at a decent price, which also offers a great performance, Decca/Chicago/Solti. Just before the “Alma Theme” (1st movement, 2nd subject), there are all sorts of things going on even though Solti gets everything very quiet and still. It’s the first time I’ve heard them, but, more importantly, the cartridge conveyed the stillness in the hall’s ambiance (see score below). More of that “pre-information” I wrote about in a couple of previous reviews. Stellar components like the Symphony and the BØRRESEN Acoustics can do that, and the EX1000 only improves upon it.

Poco rit to a Tempo (subito). Look at the little + sign above the horns, two bars before the a Tempo. The EX1000 nailed the “stopped” horn sound—”stopped" or"gestopft" in German, uses the hand cupped in the bell to make the notes sound brassy, but unlike a mute, the player has to transpose the note down a semitone. It’s a very distinctive sound, even at this dynamic, with a sf and diminuendo. Replicated flawlessly by the Aanlog Relax.

Conclusions

So, where do I go from here? As I’ve said before, once you hear these audio marvels, you can’t unhear them. I lucked out with the other two supreme components I’ve had in my music room, the Symphony and the Borresens, and have been able to keep them. The Analog Relax EX1000 is certainly in their esteemed company.

It is by far the finest phono cartridge I’ve heard, including some other very expensive carts, heard at length at shows and in stores. It’s the best by some length to those I’ve had in-house for review.

My feelings when we get to these highly-priced, super carts is they each change flavours, not so much sound. They are all very revealing, portray voices and instruments in real space as if you are there and do all the audiophile bells and whistles you expect. That was certainly the case between my long-time reference, Phasemation PP-2000 (USD 8000) and my current reference, the IKEDA Kai (USD 9600). Before the EX1000, the Kai was my favourite MC phono cartridge. A gem designed by legendary IKEDA-san. Mr. Yurugi and his “wonderful Japanese craftsmen” have changed my ranking.

I’m not sure if it is a sum of all parts thing, the sexy angles of Yakusugi Cedar with its tight grain and beeswax coating as the minute vibrations funnel through its natural cellulose tunnels. But whatever the reasons, there is something magical going on here. And I urge you to hear one ASAP.

Now, for the elephant. The price is USD 17,750. Massive and meant for wealthy vinyl enthusiasts. Can you stretch to one, or should you? Well, that’s between your ears, your conscience and your bank manager.

But be sure, vinylphiles, once you hear one in a great system, you’ll be mulling selling the kids to get one.

Further information: Analog Relax