Shakti's System: Micro Seiki 8000, Koetsu, VDH, Airtight, Zingali, YG Anat,

miniguy

Well-Known Member
Dec 18, 2013
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Thank you, shakti. Oh my! Well this is all a lot more complicated and tweaky than I was anticipating!

I thought (mistakenly, I now read) there was widespread agreement that a high effective mass arm -- whether Ikeda 407 or an FR -- was the best carrier generally for low compliance Koetsus, and that that is all you need to make a Koetsu "sing."

I like a natural, slightly rich mid-bass to lower midrange, slightly warm-ish balance in a tonearm/cartridge combination. (Think Benz Micro Ruby 2, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum, Benz LP S-MR, ZYX UNIverse Premium; I do not care for even Lyra Atlas.)

I, personally, would not want a resonant FR arm to tip upward the tonal balance of a Koetsu cartridge.

shakti, if I do not want to mess with headshells, rubber strips, rubber rings and bands, etc., what is your suggestion for a turn-key tonearm for a Koetsu?

What do you think of the SME 3012R for a stone body Koetsu?

One of these may be the answer. Very interesting and eminently affordable. To be available mid- October.
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2017/08/new-jelco-knife-edge-type-tonearm.html?m=1
 

shakti

Well-Known Member
May 9, 2015
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Cologne, Germany
My personal experience with the Koetsu in my collection (metal body, wood body and stone body) is, that they do not give a lot of energy into the arm, means, that their body construction is well designed and self dampening. So they do not need additional treatment with wood headshells, I prefer than fast and dynamic ones, like titanium or the Schick Graphit one. And to let the Koetsu fly like a bird, the arm should be capable to sing as well. Does not mean, that the arm has to add resonances, bud a tonearm with , as an example alloy or composite components has a inner damping, that a cart like a Koetsu can easily play on the boring side.

For me the FR 64s or FR66s are perfect matches for Stonebody and Woodbody. The Metalbody would also play good with Ikeda, as the system in its own is more vital than the others.

As many of you are looking for the 3012R, I would say, that 3012R plays also on the vital side of life. But can also handle the energy of an Ortofon SPU. So using a Koetsu on SME 3012R , as a guess, never tried it, would not require a wood headshell. Should work fine with a fast and dynamic headshell. As the SME 3012R is a lighter arm that the FR, the headshell should fit. With the 20g Yamamoto HS 5 titanium you would shift the specific weight of the 3012R from around 14g to more close to 18g, which is not a bad figure for a stone body Koetsu. The Stone body is heavy in its own, ca 12,5g, so in total the headshell / cable / screws will add to around 35 g. With the 16g Yamamoto HS6 titanium it will be like 31g (similar to SPU) . I would give it a try, the theory looks promising!
I can understand , that some folks use the 3012R and a stone body, combined with a more heavy headshell (Jelco HS 30 or the Koetsu headshell are at 15g)


Recommending a cart/arm combination is very difficult. I have many visitors and nearly the half love the Ikeda / Stradivarius , the other half the Fr64s/Onyx Platinum combination. Most of my friends would define their need as "resolution with weight and substance plus some "magic", but in front of the system they decide 50/50 for colibri or Koetsu.

Just give it a try! It makes fun :)
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Ron, as any cartridge will play in, the VTF etc have to be periodically adjusted to keep the SQ. If you read Doug Deacon's posts on the gon, he been on the Zyx for well over a decade, he readjusts every listening.

I understand that. But cartridge adjustment to me is different than solving for all of these variables to arrive at the cartridge and tonearm combination in the first place.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Thank you, shakti!
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
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USA
Kedar, I just found this old thread of yours. Nice review thank you for posting it. I found this particular quote quite interesting:

“The MS 8000 sounds completely different depending on the cart you have on it. With the Koetsu it was well balanced, great bass and midbass without any hump, full bodied, musically engaging. Juergen has experimented with active platforms including Herzan TS 140, but prefers the MS base for a natural synergy. Knock on it while playing and you cannot hear anything”

I see a record weight on this turntable and it does not have the massive armboard on the right. I wonder if this particular version has the vacuum hold down. Do you happen to know if it had the Micro Seiki record mat? It seems there were many variations of the various models. There was also an optional airbase but some prefer it without.

I am not surprised that as you changed cartridges and arms on the turntable you heard all the differences very clearly. My version of his turntable does not seem to have much of a sound of its own.
 

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