Koetsu Black and Rosewood loading


Hi,

I just recently setup a Koetsu Black on a VPI Ates 2 with an SME 309 arm running through a Gold Note PH-5 phono stage. My Rosewood is on a SOTA Star Sapphire table, vacuum hold down with an SME V arm through a Vendetta Research SCP-2 A phono stage.

I’ve seen and heard that with internal resistance the Black and Rosrwood should be loaded from 75-100 ohms. Well the Black sounds best, fantastic really at 100 which I settled on after going from 30 to 1K in steps. At 100 the cart bloomed, the stage opened up wall to wall and bass was staggeringly deep and tight.

the Rosewood is loaded at 200 which is as high as the Venfetta goes, at least the model I have, but after adjusting the load from very low to the top of 200, everything snapped into focus just like the black Koetsu.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with there Koetsu loading as they both have similar internals but differ mostly in body material. I’m guessing that might have something to do with the sound and hense loading and gain. Anyone care to elaborate on there Koetsu loading?

k600r

There is no "right" loading for Koetsu. It totally depends on the phono stage you’re using, and your preferences. Since you’re using the same phono with 2 Koetsus, the difference there can be attributed to voicing differences across models.

I used to think Koetsus should always be loaded 100 ohms or less - but then on an ARC Ref 3SE, my favorite load for Blue Lace ended up being 200 ohms. On others I’ve liked 50 ohms. Proponents of the Herron (and others) will say "infinite" load (much higher than 100K) is best, but I certainly liked it better with more "typical" loading.

Anyways, I’m more likely to use Koetsu with a SUT. There, you should pick a ratio 15x - 30x (depending on model) and just use a 47K ohm MM input. Whatever the actual loading works out to from that - is easy to calculate (50 - 200 ohms), but doesn’t matter nearly as much as picking the right ratio in a good sounding SUT.

Final note - Koetsu are 5 ohm coils, so you will run into significant signal losses below (say) 30 ohms. Don't go below that.