Etsuro Gold MC Cartridge in house
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
Hi Mike,today my Etsuro Gold moving coil cartridge arrived. it's been playing about 45 minutes on the CS Port turntable.
first blush:
i'm sort of blown away. i am hearing textures and fine gradations of information i don't believe i've heard before. an ease and flow i don't think i've heard. my system is set up to be a conduit for all the musical information. this might be what i had in mind.
just wow!
seems to be very synergistic with the low pressure, low flow, linear tracker on the CS Port and the CS Port phono stage........
https://etsurojapan.com/product/gold
View attachment 60390 View attachment 60393
Eventually I got the opportunity of auditioning the Etsuro Gold in an home environment yesterday!
The pairing phonoamp was the new Mk3 of EMT66 :
In one sentence :
It is the BEST and most allrounded stereo cartridge I have ever auditioned!
Big congratulations!!!
thanks CK.
i look forward to more feedback. over the last year i'm sucked deeper and deeper into my vinyl.
exciting to hear about the Mk3 of the EMT66 too.
Nice CK! In my house my dCS Rossini DAC has been sitting by waiting for a turn, but night after night I play my Etsuro Gold(mg) and have no desire at all to go for digital. I find myself playing albums all the way through, both sides, because in so many cases I am hearing so much more “music”... flow, liquidity, texture, nuance. Even my wife is spending more time listening! Did I mention my big smile? 
The Etsuro Gold is really the top of the mountain. What a view!
The Etsuro Gold is really the top of the mountain. What a view!My friend with Montagna and Goldmund bought Etsuro Gold but he prefer a little more his Atlas Lambda sl
He has AF3P with Elite 12” with Etsuro gold and Atlas Lambda sl on Phanthom 3 9” so Etsuro is on a better arm,but he prefer Atlas
For lockdown i cannot go to listen,i will go
He has AF3P with Elite 12” with Etsuro gold and Atlas Lambda sl on Phanthom 3 9” so Etsuro is on a better arm,but he prefer Atlas
For lockdown i cannot go to listen,i will go
Cartridges are hugely personal Gianluca as you know only too well! I hope to hear the Etsuro Gold one day...
@Bobvin Just noticed that you write "Etsuro Gold (mg)"...what does "(mg)" mean? Is it a special version of the Etsuro Gold? If so, what are the differences between it and a "regular" Etsuro Gold?
Just out of curiosity btw, but couldn't help but notice it, the Etsuro Gold is already one of the most (if not the most) "exotic/special" cartridges out there.
Just out of curiosity btw, but couldn't help but notice it, the Etsuro Gold is already one of the most (if not the most) "exotic/special" cartridges out there.
My version of Etsuro Gold is result of prototype efforts with different wire and motor/suspension. It is an improvement over the “stock” Gold.
Bob, How is your version an “improvement” over the regular version? Could you describe the differences in sound?
More controlled bass, perhaps a bit deeper. More texture and nuance. More delicate highs. Tough to offer more, I’m not a reviewer, and did not here them both side by side on identical setups.
With Etsuro Gold(mg) in my system a lot of records with what I perceived to be ‘muddy’ bass have become listenable, and delightfully so. It has been wonderful to realize where I thought maybe my acoustic remodel wasn’t all it should have been — the issue was my analog front end just wasn’t able to sort things out.
With Etsuro Gold(mg) in my system a lot of records with what I perceived to be ‘muddy’ bass have become listenable, and delightfully so. It has been wonderful to realize where I thought maybe my acoustic remodel wasn’t all it should have been — the issue was my analog front end just wasn’t able to sort things out.
Got my Etsuro Gold yesterday. Mount it up and this little piece of gold really sings immediately, very good sound indeed. All the best qualities are there which I don't need to repeat.
The only complain is the mounting distance. The screw holes are too far forward. I can't reach the required overhang even if I put the cartridge all the way to the front. It is 1mm short. A friend who tried to mount the Gold on a Graham Elite arm also found the overhang was about 1mm short. The shortcoming can easily be overcome by moving the arm base back a little. It is not a problem.
The only complain is the mounting distance. The screw holes are too far forward. I can't reach the required overhang even if I put the cartridge all the way to the front. It is 1mm short. A friend who tried to mount the Gold on a Graham Elite arm also found the overhang was about 1mm short. The shortcoming can easily be overcome by moving the arm base back a little. It is not a problem.
I have not tried Etsuro Gold on Graham Elite yet. It will be moved over when I have around 50 hours burn-in, probably during this weekend.
I have done some comparisons on 12" Graham Elite with 9" SAT on Air Force Zero using Koetsu Tigereye Diamond and Ortofon MC Century. With its basic configuration, ie original Graham wand and Graham phono cable, Graham Elite is no match with SAT. Sound from Graham is a lot dimmer and less dynamic, but it has a smoother presentation.
The wand was later upgraded to TechDAS Titanium wand, this enhanced the sound significantly. It was more lively and dynamic. The gap between Graham and SAT was reduced. Recently I changed the phono cable to Nordost Odin 2 phono+, this latest plus version further reduced the gap. They are now very close in their performance. The slight difference are SAT has higher resolution and tighter bass. Graham has smoother sound and more lay back presentation. Both are very present and the difference is not large.
Whether the difference is larger with Etsuro Gold, I don't know but will find out soon.
Difficult to tell exactly what have been improved because we didn't have a Mk2 to do a direct comparison.
I guess German people/EMT are reliable, they won't launch a new model unless there has been significant upgrade.
BTW I heard that the Mk3 is extremely short in supply.
Is it because of EMT being acquired by Thales? I am not sure.
Howie, you have both or upgraded to mk3 ? sweet. I will have some large amounts of hand luggage to smuggle back if I ever visit you or @Tango 's place
No but I had the Mk2 for a while (no more as it got traded in for the Zanden). I'm not sure I would bother upgrading to mk 3 if I had the mk2 but never a/b them back to back.Howie, you have both or upgraded to mk3 ? sweet. I will have some large amounts of hand luggage to smuggle back if I ever visit you or @Tango 's place
I won this LP both on second hand for 10 euro its beutifull performance ambiance recording pressing a delicate album...
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