Mysterious Cartridges: forgotten Argent MC

Something from my private investigation:

Back in the 80’s the Direct Sound Corporation Inc. introduced new series of low compliance MC cartridges under their new brand — ARGENT. Here is an old flyer with advertising of the best Argent models.

The name Argent is virtually unknown to most of the audiophiles nowadays, correct me if i’m wrong.

I tried to find out who was the manufacturer of the beautiful and extremely rare Argent MC phono pickups.

I have 3 different models:

1) One of them is high output 1.9mV MC500HS with Sapphire cantilever and Hyper-elliptical 0.3x0.6 stylus tip (30 years ago retail price in the USA was $260). Here is the same Argent, but on another tonearm.

2) Another one is MC500H with Nude Parabolic stylus tip and Super-Boron cantilever (retail price in the 80’s was $200). Both carts selfweight is 7g each. Same as my 500HS, just with Boron cantilever.

3) And the last one is ultra rare LOMC 0.2mV Argent MC110 with aluminum boby on sapphire base. The stylus is hyper-elliptical. The price in USA in the 80’s was $385. The weight is 8 gramm. Dynamic compliance of all of them is 8cu, tracking force range 1.8 — 2.2g (recommended tracking force is 2g) and frequency response is about 10Hz - 50kHz.

Argent MC cartridges never turns up for sale, i’ve been looking for them for about 6 years to find and buy some, mainly because i was very impressed by the sound quality of my first discovery (Argent MC500HS w/Sapphire Cantilever) long time ago.

However, the LOMC (0.2mV) Argent MC110 recently impressed me even more. I would love to find the rarest Argent Diamond which was the ultimate MC model ($1200 in the 80’s — serious price for the cartridge at that time). I think the "DIAMOND" is basically the same cartridge, but with different cantilever (and tuned accordingly). There was a RUBY version too!

And this is all we know about mysterious Argent brand:

Untill the mid 90’s the Argent was a trade mark of Direct Sound Corporation filed as a Domestic Business Corporation in the State of New York and is no longer active. This corporate entity was filed on Monday, August 9, 1982 and expired on Wednesday, March 13, 1996 as recorded in documents filed with New York Department of State. In June 5, 1996 the Argent Audio, Inc. was born as recorded in documents filed with New York Department of State. Chief Executive Mr. James T. Laudeman. Current entity status is inactive. Their latest product was so called The Argent Room Lens ($395 each) for Acoustic Room Treatment. The last review dated May 11, 1999. Argent Audio closed the business in 2003. Mr. Ric Cummins was a designer of the fabulous Argent Room Lens. Mr. Cummins is a sculptor by trade. His name related to another company called the Argent Cable - manufacturer of the speaker and digital cables. It’s easy to find a reviews about Argent cables and Room Lenses than any info about misterious Argent cartridges.

Who actually designed and made those obscure Argent cartridges?

I’d like to stop speculations about it — definitely NOT the Dynavector!
But american brand Argent indeed received their cartridge from Japan and that was the origin of manufacturing.
Someone on another forum said they are similar or even identical to Dynavector, but they are not, except for the silver color. As always so much misinformation posted online. They are completely different beasts (i have dyna and argent on hands). Dynavector has nothing to do with Argent, because the manufacturer of the Argent in the 80’s was the Excel Sound Corporation!

Japanese Excel Sound has more than 50 years of cartridge-making experience, much of it OEM work for other companies such as Argent in USA, SAEC in Japan and others.

Vintage entry level Argent ES-1CE is nothing but an Excel Sound 1CE, those cartridges looks similar to the Argent 500H, 500HS (Sapphire) and the 500HR (Ruby). The only difference is the plain black color of the Excel Sound 1CE and much cheaper cantilever and stylus.

I will tell you more. The current state-of-the-art $8000 Excel Sound’s Etsuro Urushi MC looks very similar compared to the stylish and very rare Argent MC110 made in the 80’s. They are both have unique sapphire base, similar specs and they came from the same manufacturer after all, just in different time.

"The Etsuro MC cartridges series was jointly developed by Mr. Masao Okada, CEO/CTO of Excel Sound Co., Ltd., which has more than half a centuryʼs experience manufacturing MC cartridge, and Mr. Etsuro Akiyama of Dai-Ichi Shoji Co., Ltd. which has been exporting audio equipment including phono cartridges and electronic measuring instruments since the 1970’s. The two companies started manufacturing the Etsuro MC Cartridge series to aim for the highest Japanese quality, which has never existed in the past, and to challenge high-end audiophiles around the world with this work of art. President Okada of Excel Sound created the Etsuro model by focusing on the high-fidelity characteristic of the sound being transferred from the groove of the record to the audio equipment."


I think the old Argent MC110 and Argent Diamond are a prototypes of the modern Etsuro Urushi and even more expensive Etsuro Gold cartridges! Would you believe it? Remember that in the late 80’s the Argent was top of the line cartridge Excel Sound ever made for US market at very high price unilizing exotic gemstone cantilever. Etsuro Urushi MC is most likely upgraded version of the Argent MC110. Introduced in 21st century Etsuro Urushi MC cost $8000 in the USA (and £7,499 in UK), it’s extremely high price for ANY Moving Coil cartridge (imo), but this is modern high-end marketing, no wonder.

No, Etsuro Urushi does not have a gemstone cantilever like vintage Argent DIAMOND from the late 80’s, but the price for Etsuro Urushi with Sapphire cantilever is even higher than Argent Diamond! At the same time the cantilever itself is identical to my Sapphire Argent MC500HS (absolutely the same).

Let’s looks at the U.S. Inflation rate, we can convert $1200 price from 1986 to 2018 and it will be no more than $2800 in "today’s" dollars. This is the price for LOMC cartridge with DIAMOND cantilever from the same manufacturer. Don’t you think that $8000 for very similar cartridge with Sapphire cantilever is too much even for the japanese luxury Urushi lacquer finishing?

I’ve got a feeling that all "new" cartridges from Excel Sound / Etsuro is just a "remastering" of their very old cartridges they made for Argent in the 80’s.

The latest release from Excel Sound is new top of the line model ETSURO GOLD with DIAMOND cantilever (finally). Remember Argent Diamond and MC110 ? Same sapphire base, almost the same size, under the new finishing there is the same aluminum body with samarium cobalt magnets.

The price for Etsuro Gold with Diamond Cantilever must be insane, it has a natural gold finishing.

On the lower side Etsuro have the Cobalt Blue model. At the moment Etsuro made only 3 models, the lowest model cost $5200 in the USA (official retail).

Not so long ago Mr. Fremer uploaded his video tour at Excel Sound in Japan. After watching you will realize that Excel Sound hasn’t produced cartridge for decades and has been making some cheap accessories instead. No wonder that making return to the cartridge business they’re quickly "remastered" an old models from the 70s/80s to sell them in a fancy packaging under the brand Etsuro with better stylus profile and very attractive luxury finishing of the cartridge body, but for extremely expensive price.

As you know the Excel Sound Corporation today is also the O.E.M. (Original Equipment Manufacturer) of the entry level ($450-750) Hana MC cartridges with elliptical or shibata profiles on aluminum cantilever. Hana available in High Output version too, just like the old Argent 500H series, but the Argent 500 was available with Boron, Sapphire, Ruby cantilevers. Now you know where the Hana came from.

Not everything in today’s High-End business described as "new revolutionary product" is actually new. Vintage cartridges made on peak of analog technology can be as good, better or very close to multi thousand dollars new luxury cartridges released today.

If you have more information, pictures or manuals for the obscure Argent cartridges please share in this topic.

I’m gonna take some more pictures of my 3 vintage Argent samples soon.

P.S. The images of Etsuro cartridges i’m using here are from the web (not taken by myself).