Koetsu

[gian60]

My friend had the old onyx 80 anniversary
Special also that cartridge

 

[peelaaa]

I have a recent urushi tsugaru. It has smooth mounting holes. I know other owners have threaded ones.
What's others experience with that?
Threaded or smooth?

 

[jadis]

I have a recent urushi tsugaru. It has smooth mounting holes. I know other owners have threaded ones.
What's others experience with that?
Threaded or smooth?

Threaded. Also a friend's Wajima bought just last month was threaded. All Urushi models i sold before were all threaded too.

 

[peelaaa]

I bought mine directly from a dealer in Japan. Both the tsugaru and wajima were smooth. Maybe they make both

 

[jadis]

I bought mine directly from a dealer in Japan. Both the tsugaru and wajima were smooth. Maybe they make both

Maybe another of the mystique of Koetsu .

 

[jadis]

Macro shot of a Urushi quadrahedron stylus

 

[jadis]

And another, of a Tiger Eye Platinum.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

And another, of a Tiger Eye Platinum.

View attachment 85949

View attachment 85950

Great close up.are you able to tell when the stylus is worn? I cart

 

[jadis]

Great close up.are you able to tell when the stylus is worn? I cart

Hard. But in my experience, it's the suspension that usually gives in first before the stylus. The Urushi was bought in 2008 and the problem now is the suspension. The Tiger Eye is playing well with no issues, bought circa 2013.

 

[mulveling]

Great close up.are you able to tell when the stylus is worn? I cart

The styli pics are lovely, but you're far better off listening for distortion / reduced sound quality particularly on inner grooves to detect when it's worn. You can usually tell from a pic though, when a stylus has not been kept as clean as it should!

 

[mtemur]

Hard. But in my experience, it's the suspension that usually gives in first before the stylus. The Urushi was bought in 2008 and the problem now is the suspension. The Tiger Eye is playing well with no issues, bought circa 2013.

+1
that's what I experienced too.

 

[mulveling]

My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).

 

[jadis]

My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).
View attachment 86976

Beautiful. And good tip on the EAR SUT. willy keep that in mind for a future project.

 

[jadis]

My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).
View attachment 86976

Hi Mike,

I notice that the EAR MC3 has 3 impedance setttings, 4, 12, and 40 ohms. So we plug this SUT into the MM input of a phono stage. What will these 3 different settings do to the sound?

 

[Addicted to hifi]

My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).

Very nice.

 

[Ralphio]

So I own Rhodonite, Blue Tigereye diamond and Coralstone mono ... do I owe it to myself to try wood bodied RSP?
Must one be in the collection?

 

[Ralphio]

Excellent photo

 

[mulveling]

Hi Mike,

I notice that the EAR MC3 has 3 impedance setttings, 4, 12, and 40 ohms. So we plug this SUT into the MM input of a phono stage. What will these 3 different settings do to the sound?

They're 3 different gain/ratio taps. The unorthodox ohm/impedance labels are EAR's "guidance" as to what cartridge coil DC resistance they think matches best with each tap. Of course the problem is that optimal matching also depends on output level, and different manufacturers have different ratios of coil ohms to output levels (Benz ruby plate models being particularly difficult to match to a SUT due to their low output per ohm). They are roughly 28x (4 ohms), 18x, and 10x ratios on the MC-3. The newer MC-4 has 3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms taps for roughly 30x, 24x, 18x, and 10x ratios.

On my MC-3, the 4 ohms is by far best for Koetsus (which all have 5 ohms coils). No telling whether 4 ohms or the MC-4's 6 ohms tap is the better match, yet. I have an MC-4 on order (they are backlogged so it will be a while) to find out

So I own Rhodonite, Blue Tigereye diamond and Coralstone mono ... do I owe it to myself to try wood bodied RSP?
Must one be in the collection?

If you've got the Koetsu bug (which it seems like), go for it! I've got a mix myself (2 Onyxes, Coralstone, Blue Lace Diamond), have had Koetsu rebuilds, and they all have a different flavor to sound. Some (non-Platinum magnets) have a much different flavor to sound. I suspect final factory fine-tuning and motor selection can have as much influence on the sound as body material (but not as much as magnets!). Of course our enjoyment of the body's beauty factors in as well! I've wanted to add a Rhodenite for a while now.

I've shirked away from using this RSP in the past; it had sounded slightly lightweight in bass (relative to stones). But in the past few years system upgrades have happened, gear changes, and I quit drinking which does at least slightly affect my hearing preferences. These sober ears need a softer top end now - I'll be trying some copper cables to replace my silver, lol. And man, that EAR really brings out the low end. It's really a lovely change of pace for the time being with RSP / EAR - very well balanced, smoother & creamier than the Blue Lace Diamond / Koetsu SUT which is more detailed. Time always sorts these things out for me, so we'll see where it goes.

Incidentally I find the Blue Lace very frustrating to photograph. The delicate fine lacing gets so easily washed out with light. Here's another attempt where I had the main face in soft shadow and had to goose the contrast & saturation to bring the grain back.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

They're 3 different gain/ratio taps. The unorthodox ohm/impedance labels are EAR's "guidance" as to what cartridge coil DC resistance they think matches best with each tap. Of course the problem is that optimal matching also depends on output level, and different manufacturers have different ratios of coil ohms to output levels (Benz ruby plate models being particularly difficult to match to a SUT due to their low output per ohm). They are roughly 28x (4 ohms), 18x, and 10x ratios on the MC-3. The newer MC-4 has 3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms taps for roughly 30x, 24x, 18x, and 10x ratios.

On my MC-3, the 4 ohms is by far best for Koetsus (which all have 5 ohms coils). No telling whether 4 ohms or the MC-4's 6 ohms tap is the better match, yet. I have an MC-4 on order (they are backlogged so it will be a while) to find out


If you've got the Koetsu bug (which it seems like), go for it! I've got a mix myself (2 Onyxes, Coralstone, Blue Lace Diamond), have had Koetsu rebuilds, and they all have a different flavor to sound. Some (non-Platinum magnets) have a much different flavor to sound. I suspect final factory fine-tuning and motor selection can have as much influence on the sound as body material (but not as much as magnets!). Of course our enjoyment of the body's beauty factors in as well! I've wanted to add a Rhodenite for a while now.

I've shirked away from using this RSP in the past; it had sounded slightly lightweight in bass (relative to stones). But in the past few years system upgrades have happened, gear changes, and I quit drinking which does at least slightly affect my hearing preferences. These sober ears need a softer top end now - I'll be trying some copper cables to replace my silver, lol. And man, that EAR really brings out the low end. It's really a lovely change of pace for the time being with RSP / EAR - very well balanced, smoother & creamier than the Blue Lace Diamond / Koetsu SUT which is more detailed. Time always sorts these things out for me, so we'll see where it goes.

Incidentally I find the Blue Lace very frustrating to photograph. The delicate fine lacing gets so easily washed out with light. Here's another attempt where I had the main face in soft shadow and had to goose the contrast & saturation to bring the grain back.

View attachment 87002

Absolutely stunning.

 

[Kcin]

They're 3 different gain/ratio taps. The unorthodox ohm/impedance labels are EAR's "guidance" as to what cartridge coil DC resistance they think matches best with each tap. Of course the problem is that optimal matching also depends on output level, and different manufacturers have different ratios of coil ohms to output levels (Benz ruby plate models being particularly difficult to match to a SUT due to their low output per ohm). They are roughly 28x (4 ohms), 18x, and 10x ratios on the MC-3. The newer MC-4 has 3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms taps for roughly 30x, 24x, 18x, and 10x ratios.

On my MC-3, the 4 ohms is by far best for Koetsus (which all have 5 ohms coils). No telling whether 4 ohms or the MC-4's 6 ohms tap is the better match, yet. I have an MC-4 on order (they are backlogged so it will be a while) to find out


If you've got the Koetsu bug (which it seems like), go for it! I've got a mix myself (2 Onyxes, Coralstone, Blue Lace Diamond), have had Koetsu rebuilds, and they all have a different flavor to sound. Some (non-Platinum magnets) have a much different flavor to sound. I suspect final factory fine-tuning and motor selection can have as much influence on the sound as body material (but not as much as magnets!). Of course our enjoyment of the body's beauty factors in as well! I've wanted to add a Rhodenite for a while now.

I've shirked away from using this RSP in the past; it had sounded slightly lightweight in bass (relative to stones). But in the past few years system upgrades have happened, gear changes, and I quit drinking which does at least slightly affect my hearing preferences. These sober ears need a softer top end now - I'll be trying some copper cables to replace my silver, lol. And man, that EAR really brings out the low end. It's really a lovely change of pace for the time being with RSP / EAR - very well balanced, smoother & creamier than the Blue Lace Diamond / Koetsu SUT which is more detailed. Time always sorts these things out for me, so we'll see where it goes.

Incidentally I find the Blue Lace very frustrating to photograph. The delicate fine lacing gets so easily washed out with light. Here's another attempt where I had the main face in soft shadow and had to goose the contrast & saturation to bring the grain back.

View attachment 87002

Beautiful ,

I use the MC 4 sometimes with Koetsu Jade Platinum and RSP.

Its a toss up on the 4 and 6 ohm inputs. Mostly I run direct to the Io with volume controls.

Do you have any experience with the luxman 8030 & 8020 SUT? I have one on hand will try it in a serious way next.