Copper, silver, or gold MC cartridge coils?

At some point early in the history of the ZYX Universe, which according to legend is a "special" model originally developed for USA distribution only, one or more reviewers opined that the copper coil/low output version of the UNIverse was the best sounding of the optional versions, which included, in addition to the copper/low output version, copper/high output, and silver coils with low or high output.  (Output is either 0.24mV or 0.48mV, depending on the choice of "low" or "high".)  That notion took root among audiophiles, and nearly everyone (including me) bought the copper/low output version.  I don't know the story that goes with all the later versions of the UNIverse, of which there are now too many to keep track of, at ever increasing price points. Other than that one instance, I never thought much about purchasing a cartridge based on the conductor used to wind the coils of a cartridge.  Like Raul says, it is the overall design that counts far more, in my opinion too.  This notion is supported by the fact that there are good and bad sounding cartridges with either copper or silver coil windings.  Gold is more rarely ever used, except by van den Hul and one other brand mentioned above.  I think in considering the "sound" of a gold coil, we have a difficult time divorcing ourselves from the subjective biases surrounding "gold". Gold "feels" warm and lush, just to use the word.


Koetsu "silver clad copper" is almost for sure not different from "silver-plated copper".  I have never liked the sound of ICs made from silver-plated copper, no matter how pure is the composition, because it sounds more bright and edgy to me in my systems than either pure copper or pure silver. On the other hand, Koetsu cartridges, even the ones with silver-plated copper coils, never sound bright and edgy, which brings me to the question: to what degree does the nature of the wire used to wind the coils in a cartridge or in a transformer affect the SQ of the output?  I doubt it is valid to think about that without reference to the physics of a coil of wire. For this I refer to Intactaudio's post above.  Dave knows more about the electronic behavior of a signal in a coil or transformer winding than any of the rest of us can even dream of. I wonder whether his remarks about the sound of copper, gold, silver pertain to wire in a coil or linear wire.  Maybe also Dave could comment on the physical state of the audio signal in a coil serving as part of a transducer, as in a cartridge or a SUT or an output transformer.  Folks pay big bucks for silver windings in a SUT or output transformer; are the results worth it?

The following will offer a description of the Urushi Cartridge Bodies as well as a description for the Silver Clad Copper Coils on a Koetsu Urushi.


There is no such thing as THE URUSHI – because Koetsu delivers different models – leaving out the Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, which I will talk about in a minute. All of the other Urushi cartridges are technical equal – what differs is the amazing lacquer artwork in the traditional Japanese Urushi fashion. Some of the models are made with very old techniques, and they are named after the Japanese cities in which these techniques were invented – examples are the Wajima and the Tsugaru. Others use a more modern twist to the old traditional techniques, the Sky Blue comes to mind. Urushi lacquer is a natural product which is won out of tree resin. It needs a long, long time to get fully dry and as it gets dry it gets harder and harder. Underneath the Urushi lacquer – you might guess it already, we will find – a rosewood body….so the Urushi carts use the same material and body form factor as the Rosewood Signature – the difference is the lacquer technique which gives the body a different behaviour regarding mechanical energy transmission and resonances! Technically there is also something new to discover….we still have a 6n pure copper coil but in this case it is cladded with silver. The cladding process could be explained if you imagine your girlfriend or wife putting on her sexy nylon stockings….. So the silver is not melted upon the copper nor is it a hybrid material mixture – it is still pure copper with a very thin cladded silver layer on top. The magnets circuit uses still smarium cobalt material as we get it also from the entry level Black Goldline, but – SURPRISE!!!! we will have now treaded mounting holes – THANK YOU KOETSU!!!!!

I wonder why nobody plays around with the wiring of MM or MI cartridges. Higher voltage maybe wire has less effect? 

One thing for sure is there is a lot of bent area for a given mc coil winding...so if that plays a role for crystal boundaries copper vs none with gold...
Roman who designs and builds the Sensitive Sound carts I distribute recently switched to gold winding / platinum magnets for the top models after a long while using copper / neo.

Not new but the best in audio rarely sits on new tech but rather new builds...

Dear @edgewear :  You are rigth the Colibri samples sound a little different in between.
I owned wood/plastic body models and cooper/Gold ones I never had the opportunity to listen the platinum one.

My preference with the Colibri go to the low output 0.22mv cooper wire and old really ligth black plastic body: the best Colibri I listened everywhere and as you could agree top performer from all frequency range with a little " strong " character in the high freq. where is very demanding on VTA/VTF, additional very good tracker.

Unfortunatelly the other Colibri samples I owned/listened all were not 0.22mv output but higher and this cartridge characteristic has influence in what we listen to.
In the latest VDH designs ( say from two years now ) he choosed for way high output levels that goes even over0.7mv and the ones I heard it are good but nothing that can compare with the true LOMC VDH samples.

Koetsu is another case where I own or owned vintage models of Rosewood, Onyx and even one named silver till I finished with the platinum ones.
Like with the Colibri no two vintage same model Koetsu samples performs the same and seems to me tghat only when they switch to the platinum models Koetsu really started to takes its work truly " seriously " to achieve the audiophile sound needs.
Question is : quality levels changed because the platinum or because a better overall excecution to the cartridge design?, I think that both things but perhaps more inclined to a better overall cartridge design and cartridge QC through manufacture it.

Lyra is another example about the use of platinum in its Olympos model that was a departure from the Lyra cartridge signature kind of sound.
I had the opportunity to listen in deep to the Olympos mounted in a Schroeder tonearm, SP10MK3, MBL speakers, top SS phonolinepreamp, etc, etc. and I have to say that performs really good but a little in the warm side that's unfortunatelly is not what goes with my priorities but J.Carr  posted somewhere that more or less that was a characteristic of that model against the other more " dynamic/agressive models as the Titan i of those times.

All these first hand experiences along the different examples I posted here tells me that it's the overall design and quality level excecution to that design what really matters more than the kind of of wire used in the coils even I posted that the coils wiring shapes could be more important than the wire and this only a cartridge designer can tell us.

Btw, Allaerts use gold wire and the performance of its top models are first rate ( I owned ) however a little soft at the highs. As with silver and cooper wire that exist different quality levels maybe is the same with gold but I don't know for sure.

Lewm for me a phono cartridge item is way different than a SUT and has no relationship on the topic of this thread. What could be true for a SUT not necessary is true for a phono cartridge. I think that only gentlemans like JC or VDH can tell us all about.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.