Koetsu cartridges

[Jerome W]

Hello folks,

I never heard any Koetsu cart but my interest had been caught by the various reviews and friends reviews. They seem to have precisely the sonic signature I am looking for.
I was needing an other cart like a hole in my head as Dan says, being extremely happy with the carts I am using now ( EMT XSD 15 and SPU Ortofon Classic GM E MKII on the Verdier tt and the amazing Ortofon 2M Black on the TD124 ). But you all know that this hobby has nothing to do with logic.
So, after checking the compatibility with my heavy SME M2-12R arm, I ordered a Rosewood Signature cart. I was thinking of the Urushi Vermillion but its very low output of 0,2mV frightened me a bit. Do not want to use a SUT anymore. Want to keep the things simple. My Cyrus Phono Signature / PSXR2 is extremely clean and silent and its 70 dB gain setting may have been enough but I feel more comfortable with the 0,4mV of the Rosewood.

Please share here your experiences and feelings about the Koetsu carts. Thank you.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Jerome W

Hello folks,

I never heard any Koetsu cart but my interest had been caught by the various reviews and friends reviews. They seem to have precisely the sonic signature I am looking for.
I was needing an other cart like a hole in my head as Dan says, being extremely happy with the carts I am using now ( EMT XSD 15 and SPU Ortofon Classic GM E MKII on the Verdier tt and the amazing Ortofon 2M Black on the TD124 ). But you all know that this hobby has nothing to do with logic.
So, after checking the compatibility with my heavy SME M2-12R arm, I ordered a Rosewood Signature cart. I was thinking of the Urushi Vermillion but its very low output of 0,2mV frightened me a bit. Do not want to use a SUT anymore. Want to keep the things simple. My Cyrus Phono Signature / PSXR2 is extremely clean and silent and its 70 dB gain setting may have been enough but I feel more comfortable with the 0,4mV of the Rosewood.

Please share here your experiences and feelings about the Koetsu carts. Thank you.

Jerome, you will be happy. Most of Koetsu are romantic and lush sounding, at least in all the cases I heard them.

[turntable]

Hi Jerome

I owned the standard Rosewood for a while. Honestly I preferred the denon 103R. it was warm, no bass control and added syrup. sold it after a few months.

I have been told you must go signature or platinum to get good sound or above.

[tom_hankins]

Owned and loved the Rosewood Signature Platinum. It and the Stone body Koetsu cartridges I have listened to, have always been good.

[Puma Cat]

Jerome,
If you were asking for guidance, my directions would be: "Just get it. You won't regret it".

I have the Koetsu Urushi Vermilion and it is one of the finest-sounding cartridges I've ever experienced. I use it with a Bob's Devices SUT, and am very happy with the pairing. I then run these two into the MM cartridge input of my (formerly Serge's) EAR 324. I would just add to Serge's comment that while some of the lower-end Koetsus have the some attributes of being lush and romantic-sounding, this does not apply to the higher-end models, including the Urushi Vermilion and particularly the stone-bodies. Instead, they just sound overwhelmingly like MUSIC, much the Schiit Gumby or Yggy Multibit DACs do.

So, you will not be disappointed. The Rosewood Signature will not be as romantic as the base model Rosewood, and the RS Platinum will be even more neutral. But I think the Rosewood Signature will be a great place to start.

Hope that helps!

Best,
Stephen

best,
Stephen.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by tom_hankins

Owned and loved the Rosewood Signature Platinum. It and the Stone body Koetsu cartridges I have listened to, have always been good.

Fully agree. I would not characterize them as lush, romantic or syrupy, either, would you? Just very musical; in this sense they remind of Dyanaudio's loudspeaker. Neutral, resolving, but very, very musical; something you can listen to for hours and never suffer listening fatigue. Particularly the stone bodies are very, very neutral as well as very resolving.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Fully agree. I would not characterize them as lush, romantic or syrupy, either, would you? Just very musical; in this sense they remind of Dyanaudio's loudspeaker. Neutral, resolving, but very, very musical; something you can listen to for hours and never suffer listening fatigue. Particularly the stone bodies are very, very neutral as well as very resolving.

Most call it the "Koetsu Technicolor" I personally like that.

[tom_hankins]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Fully agree. I would not characterize them as lush, romantic or syrupy, either, would you? Just very musical; in this sense they remind of Dyanaudio's loudspeaker. Neutral, resolving, but very, very musical; something you can listen to for hours and never suffer listening fatigue. Particularly the stone bodies are very, very neutral as well as very resolving.

No not lush, but some added color. They create lots of music, in lots of space. They are very good cartridges.
Another plus is they last a long time. I like the Air Tights, Koetsu, and Benz LPS.

[Dsholl1]

Have you considered Miyajima Labs?

[Jerome W]

Thank you for the answers my friends ! Very interesting.
Shane : I heard many things about these carts but never imagined that a Koetsu could be inferior to a 103R. Are you sure that it was run in ?
Stephen : actually I was not very sure of my choice with the Rosewood Sig. I cancelled my order. I may finally go with the Urushi Vermillion.