2. analog
  3. 131346-99360

koetsu

seeking advice as to where the sweet spot is in this line price/performance.

dancekerl
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,875 posts
 
Curious about this myself. However, the thing to remember is that the Platinum magnet models all have significantly less output than the non-platinum models...which may discount the Platinum magnet models if your phono stage cannot support ultra low-output MC's.
I really do believe that the output of the cartridge is something that many a'philes ignore- and then wonder why their particular model sounds less "alive" than the cartridges that are more suited to their particular phono stage ( output wise!!).
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
I recommend a moving coil step up transformer (SUT) for use with any low-output (less than 1 millivolt) mc cartridge. This will give you the needed gain and sound much better than a typical high-gain phono stage. And a much lower noise floor so you will hear more subtle details present in the recording! 
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
A used Koetsu Black would be a good budget choice. Or a used Supex 500 (same designer as the Koetsu). Either one used with a good SUT will provide plenty of sonic realism from your favorite LP's!
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

My experience with Koetsus is limited but I own many MC carts

while without comparisons no judgement is possible. My first

was the Rosewood Signature which was refurbished by Koetsu

for 2000 euro. I was not impressed. Then I got one of those Uruchi's;

the Blue Sky. This one was in a different league. Nobody, except

the very rich, needs a better cart. This curious description ''Uruchi's

are painted Rosewoods'' make no sense to me. My advice would be

buy whatever Uruchi you can find for a reasonable price , post the

cart to Expert stylus in UK and enjoy the cart for the rest of your life.

By Expert stylus your cart will be checked, cleaned and provided

with their ''Paratrace'' stylus for about 200 GBP. So no worry about

your records.

dancekerl OP
16 posts
 
Great advice friends, i really appreciate it all.
Am using Pass' xp-15, so no worries of gain/noise i think, although i made a gift to a friend of one of Bob's Devices suts and it really transformed his system. We were both stunned as we listened to it break in over a weekend of non-stop listening.

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