Highly Regarded X-Quisite Cartridges Added to the KJ Collection

X-Quisite is a new name when it comes to analogue, having released their first products just two years ago. However the man behind these cartridges is certainly not new to audiophiles.

Micha Huber invented the incredible Thales tonearm and spent many years working with EMT to develop their cartridges and phono stage releases. He is a very well respected name in the hi-fi world, known for his ‘swiss precision’ when it comes to engineering.

Mr. Huber used these connections at EMT, to develop the brand new technology used in the (what would become) X-Quisite cartridges. The key difference between his cartridges and all other cartridges is that he has been able to remove the joint at the point of the highest dynamic load. As you can see demonstrated below –

Conventional Transducer with Aluminium Cantilever

The diamond tip is fixed to a cantilever made of aluminium. Since aluminium is a relatively soft material, the high-dynamic tracking process causes deformation of the cantilever and therefore distortion of the signal. Moreover, there is a joint between cantilever and coil body, which, due to lever action, carries the highest dynamical load of the transducer and cannot pass on the movement without loss.

High-end Transducer with Boron or Sapphire Cantilever

The cantilever is fully or partly made of boron, sapphire or even diamond. Thus, vibration of the cantilever itself is minimized. But the joint between cantilever and coil body is even harder loaded, and this weak point impairs the quality of the signal transmission.

X-Quisite Transducer with Patented Monobloc-Ceramic Technology

Cantilever and coil body are made of a single high-strength ceramic piece. Accordingly, there is no more joint at the point of the highest dynamic load, and the music signal is transmitted absolutely pure from the diamond tip to the coil body. X-quisite allows supreme detail resolution and at the same time an extremely natural sound.

It is not just us who were blown away after hearing them. The X-Quisite cartridges have been getting incredibly positive reviews since their introduction to the market in 2020.

Jacob Helibrunn of The Absolute Sound magazine reviewed the ST cartridge and said “To call it a detail freak, however, would be to misinterpret what it is accomplishing. This was not the pursuit of detail for its own sake, but an ability to render the musical intention of the performer with uncanny accuracy. On an East German recording of Ludwig Guttler playing a trumpet concerto by Michael Haydn—yes, Franz Josef did, indeed, have a brother—I was fascinated by the cartridge’s ability to track—or, to put it another way, reproduce—the physical sensation of how much air Guttler was blowing into the trumpet to produce the sense of ebb and flow of a note.”

Matej Isak of monoandstereo.com was also heaping praise in his review of the CA cartridge. He concluded “The X-quisite CA cartridge defines its exquisite nature as the name implies. It is a perfectionist, handcrafted, innovative high-end audio and high-performance cartridge that exposes another level of analogue music transcription and depicts a further step towards acknowledging what is hidden in the black grooves of vinyl records. 

For what it represents sound-wise, and above all, with its given price compared to what is available at that cost, it has a stand-out value.“

We now have the ST and CA cartridges on permanent demonstration and can arrange auditions on a wide variety of our top turntables. Get in touch to book an appointment.