The reintroduction

Regularly, many different people -distributors, dealers, customers- have asked Herman van den Dungen to revive the project and until recently Herman was in doubt if he should do it or not; if he could do it or not. The day has only 24 hours.

However, recently on a Sunday Herman was doing some experiments and wanted to make a digital copy of some lp’s. In fact he had to set up a turntable again, install an arm and a cartridge. Herman looked around and was tempted to install an air bearing, but he knew it would take days, weeks, months to get it working perfectly. And most probably he would give up before it was ready. So it was his Oracle with Kiseki Gold tone arm which was getting a brand new cartridge he had in a drawer … a Koetsu Black 🙂

To make a long story short, Herman remembered very well it was a “dark” sounding cartridge, but this one was super dark, too dark to see any musical light, so after a week he more or less gave up and said to his team “I wished I had a Kiseki left”. And someone remembered… there was one left, never used in a sealed wooden box.

Herman installed the Kiseki, played the record and the music was alive. It gave him the “light” he was missing. After some days, it was a bit more smooth, but still light, delicate, open, vivid. And that made him think “we have to do it again”. Why not make a new start … “Atara shii kadode” with his little miracle, his Kiseki.

From that moment things went fast. All the paperwork, parts were collected and he found himself during a night on the kitchen table selecting parts, flattening some warped nameplates with the pastry roller (!) etc etc. After he knew what was his inventory of parts he knew he could make about 105 new Kiseki Blue N.O.S. cartridges. He found his Fokadu again (or was it Fukada?) and soon he had again 2 samples (2 different styli) and after selecting, the production of 100 pieces started. Thirty pieces received, 20 on the way, 50 to follow. After that will start the “normal” production of same quality, same built Kiseki Blue N.S. (New Style) cartridges and a smaller body will be used, kind of mix in shape of a Kiseki with the body of his other cartridge brand MillTek.

In the meantime Herman has been checking the remaining parts of the PurpleHeart cartridges, the BlackHeart cartridges, the Agate cartridges and if the world still needs such “little miracles” these will follow later on. Herman is also working on a Kiseki PreAmplifier and in this design he wants to try to combine the best of analog with the best of digital.

How, what and why … Herman hopes to tell you later …