Can I get more out of my Koetsu ?

Is the consensus that this [transimpedance] is a better design or a matter of taste?

@kdogsy That’s a great question that’s been avoided 😎

I would venture it’s an acquired taste with the right system and cartridge.

When the design works, users will of course seek out low-impedance pickups that enjoy the party, most likely with the belief that non-working pickups are irrelevant in the LOMC universe.

In Stereophile’s March ‘23 issue, Herb Reichert describes the SUTZ connected to his all tube Tavish Design Adagio as, “These sonic descriptions fail to communicate the subjective character of my Dynavector experience. I put hundreds of listening hours on the XX-2 because it’s lively, easy-flowing free-spiritedness made me want to play records. At the end of every side, I needed another” as well as, “Ron Sutherland went wild and created a new category of phonographic components - the current-drive headamp - that let me add my own choice of tube glories to the quiet steadiness of virtual short loading.”

As far as a better design is concerned - I suspect that may have something to do with Mr. Sutherland calling it Loco.

I think you’re doing ok. You may think about a turntable upgrade but that’s just part of the hobby. As for your koetsu, I have a Rosewood Signature mounted on my vpi scout. It’s sounds great.  They can be finicky but keep adjusting. That’s what I did and eventually hit its sweet spot. Also be sure to use brass mounting screws. It helps. Good luck. 

Thanks everyone, enjoying the discussion. @mulveling you have offered SUT advice previously and I am really happy with the difference in sound sound the MC4 has made. I kept the interconnect short as you suggested and will try out some shorter interconnects from TT > SUT also (currently 1M).

I have a good used high end HiFi warehouse at the end of my street so if I see any of the mentioned gear from this thread come through I will ask for a loan to experiment. 
 

I have been drooling over some turntables that could be possible upgrades but I think I am getting into the 10k territory which is allot for me and I might like to end up with something with 2 tone arms if spending that much. 
 

anywah appreciate all the comments and insights 🙏

For what it’s worth, I am using a custom built, solid state current driven head amp in front of my tube phono stage with MM levels of gain. The results are impeccable, terrific. I love it. I did it because you have to go out of your way for gain if you are using an Ortofon MC 2000 cartridge, which has possibly the lowest voltage output of any cartridge ever marketed but produces decent current output owing to its very low internal resistance (2 ohms). And I don’t own a SUT. this type of head amp is real competition for any step up transformer.

Kudos to Sutherland for going commercial with the idea, if that’s what they’ve done. Because I can’t find such a product on their website.

@lewm I ordered a set of head shell bolts designed for the purpose of experimenting with adding mass, like you said. The heaviest are about 6g so the difference = + 5g. My counter weight wasn't heavy enough to counter this much additional weight so I got a roll of solder I had lying around and tightly coiled it around my counter weight followed by some electrical tape then another layer of tightly coiled solder and more electrical tape. Looks quite neat and added enough weight to counter the new head shell screws. Do you see any issue with this counter weight hack?

After making this change I don't think there was a sonic improvement. I actually think what i was hearing was a decrease of airiness and less decay details. Kind of made the sound feel a bit dense and dead to me. (excuse my non audiophile language).
I replaced the 6g (total) screws with the 3g (total) screws and left the counter weight as is is with all the solder attached. So this added 2g mass above the head shell compared to my starting point + whatever the solder/counterweight calculation would amount to. 
I feel like the sound improved and had more of what I noticed was missing from the higher mass setup.

I will continue to experiment but just wanted to let you know that I am enjoying following your suggestions to see where it takes me.