EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Analog Relax EX500
moving coil cartridge
Alan Sircom

How we make things often follows
country stereotypes. Americans
make ‘em ‘big.’ The English… ‘quirky.’Germans… ‘reliable.’ Russians… ‘canbe repaired with hammers.’ And a big
part of the Japanese manufacturing
zeitgeist is ‘artisan.’ It’s hand-crafting
sword-making or pottery for the last 700 years, handing
down the skills through the generations. Analog Relax is apart of that artisan tradition, yet it is not bound by it, making
it one of the exciting newer brands on the vinyl scene. Thatis ably demonstrated by the Analog Relax EX500 moving
coil cartridge, a perfect blend of traditional and modern
cartridge design.

Reproduced from hi-fi+ Issue 234

There’s also a wider sense of a baton being passed
here. Yasushi Yurugi of Analog Relax is a generation or two
younger than most other Japanese cartridge masters. Thisis a major concern; Transfiguration cartridges ended with
Seiji Yoshioka’s passing in late 2018. Meanwhile, Jelco arms
ceased production in 2020, the parent company decidingthat elderly engineers operating ancient machinery were
not a good mix with COVID-19. And when Koetsu closed its
doors following the passing of Sugano Fumihiko on August21, 2023, the brand’s longest-serving distributor, AbsoluteSounds, found itself in a tough spot. The company neededa replacement cartridge brand, but Koetsu left some big
shoes to fill. However, if any new cartridge maker could fillthat void, it would be Analog Relax.

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EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Analog Relax EX500

The creamy midrange and enticing presentation – just the right side of softand relaxed –is absolute perfection when playing something jazzy.

The Fab Four
Analog Relax has four moving coil cartridges in its range.
The EX500 is the second rung on the ladder, with theEX300 beneath it and the EX1000 and EX2000 above. The
EX300 and EX500 share an elliptical diamond stylus profile,although the profile design is enhanced in the EX500. The
cantilever in both the EX300 and EX500 is aluminium, buta thicker design than used by most cartridge builders. Thecompany also uses what is claimed to be a new bonding
material between cantilever and diamond. It tracks ataround 2g. The more up-scale models use the company’sown Super Line Contact stylus, with a ruby and diamondcantilever, respectively.
The other important change as you move up the range
is the wood choice for the cartridge body, moving from abeeswax-finished walnut (popular with high-end luthiers)
through 2,000-year-old Yakusugi cedar and up to the same
Southern Tyrol spruce that Stradivarius favoured. In theEX500, the choice of wooden body falls to a Romanianmaple that violin makers also favour. In all cases, the bodyitself is carefully carved to create a shape with almost noparallelism, making the cartridge look very different from theslab-sided Koetsu and Kiseki designs. In fact, it looks a little
like a tiny Avalon, Tidal or Rockport loudspeaker, turned
through 90°.
In listening to the EX500, it’s perhaps no surprise thatthe parent company of Analog Relax is called ZOOT
Communications and the founder is also the presidentof the Zoot Sims fan club. Zoot Sims was one of thoseeffortless, legato saxophonists whose range spanned bigband to cool jazz. And, while the EX500 is more than justsome smooth sounding jazzer, the creamy midrange andenticing presentation – just the right side of soft and relaxed– is absolute perfection when playing something jazzy. It
needn’t be saxophone-based; I played the near ubiquitousThis Ones For Blanton! [Pablo], which is just piano andbass, but Ellington’s strident tone and Ray Brown’s playful
bass are given all the space to spring to life between theloudspeakers. It’s the wonderful harmonic charm of theEX500 that just draws you deeper into the music.
If it were a cartridge optimised for jazz that would
be fine for some listeners, but too limiting for wider use.
Fortunately, the Analog Relax EX500 has a broader spreadof benefits that extend beyond one genre. This was asurprisingly adept cartridge whatever the music you placedon the platter. The name implies a laid-back presentation,
but it’s not as ‘relaxed’ as the name suggests.

Reproduced from hi-fi+ Issue 234In fact, I found the Analog Relax EX500 a fine all-rounder.
It’s more about the tonality and easy dynamic range thanedgy detail and attack, but put something with someenergy on the record and it resolves it well. For example, it
powered its way through Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘TwoTribes’ (ZTT), presenting all those early samples, analogue
synths, powerful bass lines and rim-shots with aplomb.
Yes, I found it led me more toward the Nils Frahm end ofmy record collection and away from Sleaford Mods, but thiswas less ‘forced’ and more of a gentle nudge.
The cartridge’s tonal balance is extremely even, with anespecially strong midrange. This makes for outstanding
vocal clarity and harmonic richness. This extends down
into the lower bass and especially the high-frequency
range. The stereo separation and spacial properties of thecartridge is also first-rate with an ability to create a goodsoundstage with the majority of recordings. I expect themore high-end Analog Relax cartridges give even better
separation, ensuring even large orchestral passages receive
the same stereo staging treatment. Regardles of musical‘complexity’, the stage depth of the EX500 is excellent.
There are two types of good cartridge at this price. The
first is the ‘does everything really well’ class, which are
inevitably well-balanced but sometimes a little too uniform
for seasoned listeners. There there’s the ‘do one thing
brilliantly’ squad. The EX500 is joyous exception; it does
midrange brilliantly, and is also extremely well-balanced.
That makes it a rare jewel in cartridge making!

Midband richness
If you are looking for a like-for-like Koetsu replacement,
this isn’t it. But, it’s likely that everyone who lusted after aKoetsu back in the day already has one. What we needtoday is something that has the midband richness andverve of those classic cartridges with all the grace of theclassics with a little more. The Analog Relax EX500 does
just that. So long as your tastes don’t begin and end with
flat-out rock, there’s something to love here.

Price and contact details
Price: £4,998
Manufacturer Analog Relax
www.analogrelax.com
UK distributor Absolute Sounds
www.absolutesounds.com  +44(0)208 971 3909

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