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Cartridges
Hand-build replacement styli and cartridges in Japan, including SAS profiles for classic Shure bodies.
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about jico
JICO, formally Nippon Precision Jewel Industry Co., Ltd., has produced phonograph styli in Japan since 1949, with company roots that trace back to a needle factory in 1873. It is headquartered in the Mikata district of Hyogo Prefecture and built its reputation as a high-volume, high-precision stylus maker, turning out well over a hundred thousand pieces a year across more than two thousand distinct stylus types for dozens of cartridge brands. The products audiophiles know JICO for are its SAS replacement styli, which use a Super Analog Stylus profile and have become the standard upgrade tip for classic Shure bodies after Shure exited cartridge production. Beyond replacement styli, JICO makes its own cartridges, including the SETO-HORI moving-coil model and the Clipper moving-magnet line, extending the company from a tip supplier into a cartridge maker in its own right. JICO competes in the same conversation as Ortofon, Audio-Technica, and Nagaoka on the stylus and cartridge side, and is especially valued by owners keeping vintage Shure and similar cartridges alive. US distribution runs through LP Tunes as exclusive Americas distributor, with TurntableLab as an authorized US dealer. Coverage includes multiple TNT-Audio reviews of the SAS stylus and SETO-HORI cartridge plus a strong presence on Audiogon and Vinyl Engine, though Stereophile and TAS coverage did not surface. Styli and cartridges are hand-finished in Japan.