Compliance of a First Generation Kiseki Blackheart
I have a 1st generation Kiseki Blackheart cartridge that has a compliance of 20x16-10 dyne listed on Vinyl Engine. What I cannot tell is if this is listed at 10 Hz or 100 Hz. If 10 Hz this makes it a relatively high compliance cartridge. If 100 Hz then not so much, a somewhat high low compliance design. No one seems to know who built the Kiseki cartridges with any certainty, so we do not know if this is a Japanese builders spec or not.
I am thinking of installing it on a SME V. That leads to another interesting question. The V is a 9.5 gram arm, and I do seem to remember owners and even reviewers pairing it with cartridges such as a Koetsu Rosewood. Seems like a significant mass and compliance mismatch. Matter of fact, most moving coils from the time of the original SME V seem ill suited to use with this arm. Even a good number of current moving coils are not likely to be compliant enough. So aside from some of the Audio Technica cartridges, what are favorable pairings?
I currently have a Transfiguration Proteus on it, and I had someone contact me interested in purchasing it. Now I had not given thought of selling it, but this has tickled my what if button. It also can make me think of selling my V and refitting my SOTA Cosmos with new arm and cartridge. Or selecting an appropriate arm for the Blackheart if the V is not compatible.
There would be ultimate kudos if someone ever answered with conviction who built the Kiseki. I don’t think Mr Foduko ever clipped a lock of hair and began polishing away to build super diamonds. But it’s a great story, isn’t it?
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@hiendmmoe Mine is the first generation cartridge, not the new version. Mine would have been produced in the late 80s or early 90s. |
I suspect that 20 dyne compliance is a 10 Hz based number. I put the cartridge on a SME V and it sounds lovely! I have it slightly tail down, and when I hit this current position, I was listening to an album that had so much lower bass than I had expected. The presentation was remarkable and wholly unexpected. I remember back to a conversation I had with a audiophile a number of years ago who said he had went to the audio store one day and came back with a Kiseki Purpleheart. How he loved the sound of that first generation Purpleheart (yes this was in the 1980s) but the cartridge did not last a long time. It makes me think it might have been used in a higher mass arm and not a good match. For now it stays on the SOTA/SME, it's a combination that is working very well. |
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