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Koetsu surprise

I have to hand it to my wife.  Like many of us, I have always plotted and schemed my own system upgrades based on my interests and perceived best bang for the buck.  I have been concentrating on the analog front end for the past 4 years and have been listening to a lot more music.  I had been enjoying a Lyra Delos for its detail and upper register energy, a SoundSmith Zephyr Star for its amazing instrumental separation and full frequency balance and an Ortofon MC A90, that I purchased used of Agon.  Thought I was done with cartridges for a long time.
So when on the eve of our 20th wedding anniversary I received a little square box from her, I had no clue that she would gift me something for the stereo.  But there in front of me is a pretty little Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum!  
Its hard to describe the disbelief.  I had never considered a Koetsu.  My impression of them was that they were rolled off, romantic, old school cartridges that had been bettered long ago by the likes of Ortofon, Lyra and SoundSmith.  Never really read up on their cartridges given that their cheapest models were about as much as I would ever consider spending.  
Fast forward one month and I have put about 40 hours on the RSP.  From the first needle drop I was very impressed with the midrange presence and the utter ease and extension into the very highest frequencies. The bass did sound a little soft in the first several hours but has tightened up considerably.  It sounded its best loaded with 100 Ohms and mounted on my Mørch DP-6 with heavy brass headshell screws from SoundSmith.  I currently have it on my Jelco 750D with a Jelco Rosewood headshell.  
I don't think any of these arms are the best match but the RSP does sound quite special on all of them.  Just purchased a 40 year old Fidelity Research FR-64S.  Can't wait to listen to the RSP on this arm.  Any recommendations on the FR-64S/RSP combo are welcome.

This whole experience has taught me an interesting lesson about assumptions in our little hobby.  You just have to listen before you judge.  This is a quantum leap in musical enjoyment that would never have happened if left to my own devices. Anyone else have this type of experience?  First time you heard something that changed your mind about what you thought you knew about audio?

I married up!

128x128karl_desch

Showing 4 responses by mulveling

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 
That’s awesome! She did amazing choosing a Koetsu Platinum. I love my Platinums (Rosewood, Onyx, Jade, Coralstone); stuck with Koetsu ever since I discovered I had a hard time warming up to the upper range Ortofons (Windfeld, etc).

I’ve got a Fidelity Research FR64fx that sounds awesome with ’em; the F64S should be even nicer (and looks cooler too). Alignment can be tricky on these 10" FR arms; I really like my Mint LP protractor for that.

I also really like these carts on my Graham Phantom Supreme.

And I DEFINITELY remember first seeing Koetsu carts advertised in needledoctor / music direct around 2006 -- that $15K Coralstone, $8K Onxy. 3.8K Urushi Blue -- and thinking how stupid that pricing seemed, especially when the main differences seemed to be wood vs stones, paint colors, etc. I wondered why would anyone pay thee prices when carts like Ortofons are much higher tech. Years later I actually got to HEAR a Koetsu (I didn’t seek out the audition), and then it was all over for me.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 
@terry9
Nothing particularly exciting to report on the stone body differences -- I find them all to be very close to each other; all excellent. I got the Coralstone brand new last year, and right out of the box it blew me away. Got my busted Onyx Platinum rebuilt by Koetsu shortly afterwards, and the Coralstone was definitely better from hour 1 -- it sounds denser and more lifelike from top to bottom, with a slightly lusher and more organic midrange. Definitely more of a music lover’s cartridge, but also very detailed.

That said, after only 30 or so hours on the Coralstone, I switched to the newly rebuilt Onyx for run-in. And now, with some hours and a amp tube change (to a warmer/lusher phase splitter), I’m enjoying it about as much as I was the Coralstone. I’ll have to switch back again and see where that takes me.

I originally bought the Jade and Onyx used (~300 hours each) several years ago. they were extremely similar sounding. You really had to split hairs to say maybe the Jade was a bit airier on top and the Onyx had a bit more warmth down low. The Jade shell is thinner and lighter than the Onyx; who knows if that contributes. Now that the rebuilt Onyx is run-in, it does seem that it's retained a lot of its original sonic nuances...but cleaner and more detailed.

I also have a supposed original Sugano-Sr. RSP with 500 hours (never rebuilt). It’s also very very good but I like the stone bodies a bit better; they have more powerful bass response, which makes them more musically complete and accurate to my ears. And I certainly don’t hear anything syrupy, overly warm, or slow about the RSP (as some have tagged it in the past). Perhaps the character of the RSP has changed quite a bit over the years. I also have an even older non-platinum Onyx that definitely fits the old Koetsu stereotype - warm and technicolor (not so accurate, but beautiful sounding in some ways), lol.

I think the new Koetsus and rebuilds are fantastic. Dead-on channel balance, too. If anything, they’re getting better at making these.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 
We all have opinions, but none of us value our own opinions as much as Raul values his. He's uniquely equipped to win any war of words via pure attrition.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 
@terry9 
The stylus visibility is all varies a lot with Koetsus. On my Coralstone, it barely protrudes from the cantilever towards the record -- certainly hard to see. On my other Koetsus (including vintage RSP), the shank protrudes quite a bit and is very easy to spot even with a naked eye. 
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