Koetsu USA

RMAF 2008

By Stephen Mejias • Posted: Oct 13, 2008

Hiram Toro explained that he took the reigns of Koetsu USA when his close friend and Koetsu importer Ronnie Caplan unexpectedly passed away. Before Ronnie succumbed to complications following a heart attack, Hiram had promised his friend that he would take care of everything, fully expecting that Ronnie would recover from his illnesses. Hiram kept his promise and has maintained the Koetsu presence in the US market for the past two years. When he decided that that wasn't enough fun, he added Chario loudspeakers and Montegiro turntables to the roster.

From left to right: Hiram Toro, his son Gabriel Toro, and good friend Carlo Vincenzetto, sales director for Chario.

Comments

Submitted by John Brooks on November 18, 2008 - 8:07am.

I appreciate the human interest side of your report on the Koetsu room at RMAF, but any report on this room would be lacking if it did not mention the Koetsu Coralstone that was set up on a DaVinci arm on the Montegiro Lusso turntable. A second SME V arm on that same table sported the venerable and widely-lauded Koetsu Onyx Platinum ($8,500). In A-B comparisons (made easy by the Aesthetix Rhea phono pre with switchable inputs at the push of a button) the Coralstone TROUNCED the Onyx. It's detail, transparency, dynamics, and accuracy took you deeper into the music than you could have imagined. This despite a pretty poorly set up room, with no acoustic treatments. The only downside is the Coralstone will set you back $14,000. But to have heard it is to carry a musical memory that will last a lifetime.