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Getting The Most Out Of A Koetsu Urushi

Recently acquired a Koetsu Urishi Tsugaru from a known and well trusted source. This cartridge has been refurbished by VDH, and has under 100 hours on it. Mu current cartridges consist of an Ortofon Winfeld, ZYX 4D, and Denon DL 304. 

The Urushi is certainly different than my previous cartridges, and I do hear lots of potential there. Currently have it installed on a DP 75 in a VPI plinth, with an Acos GST 801 arm. Phono stages available are the Liberty B2B-1 and the internal stage on a Musical Fidelity Nu Vista M3. 

The question is system configurations on how to get the Urushi properly sorted out. Are most Koetsu users also SUT users? Is there any upside to running it on this cartridge versus my phono stage in MC trim? Secondly, the output cable on the 801 is not verified as the stock one for the 801, and since the arm is wired internally with silver wire, I have considered the possibility to changing it out to a known cable of good quality. Which that one is to be, I have not made a decision on. 

I do also have a Technics SP 10 MK II in a variable density plinth, and I might consider putting the Urushi on there, although it might necessitate a change in tone arms. I have a 12" Riggle String Theory arm on it, and I suspect the wood arm may fall into the slightly warm camp, which is not what I would suspect this cartridge needs. It does seem that the SME V is a go to choice, but been thinking of other options also. 

Anyone with thoughts and experiences they care to share?
neonknight
neonknight OP
411 posts
 
Oh sure I understand what you are saying Lew.

The first step in the process is getting the Analysis Plus Apex phono interconnect installed, and making sure there is not a bottleneck there. Then we will evaluate.

I did pick up a used SUT for a modest price, made with Lundahl 9206 transformers. Ideally this works on the Musical Fidelity internal phono stage when set to MM position, and should pair well with the Denon DL 304. The MF/304 combo is for casual vinyl listening, when I want to spin my Culture Club and Wang Chung records!

The Urushi has an internal impedance of 5 ohms, as does the Winfeld, and the ZYX 4D is 4 ohms. This means if I find a SUT for lower internal impedance cartridges, it should work well with all 3 of these, and that has some value to me. So we will experiment with the Lundahl based SUT, and if the results are positive I can consider investing some money for the other 3 cartridges.

Its all a grand experiment! In the end, I might be content with  the Urushi going direct into the Liberty. I am happy with the other two cartridges that way. I need to delve into the manual again and see how it can be set up for 47K , and get a baseline of hearing it that way. 
neonknight OP
411 posts
 
The Analysis Plus Silver Apex is due to deliver today. With that bit of the puzzle in place, I can then decide if I need to progress a bit further in terms of optimizing other parts of the analog chain for this cartridge. 


atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,979 posts
 
On the subject of effective mass, my Triplanar has effective mass in the same range as the SME V, about 11g, I think. My Urushi sounded very good in the TP, but I have always wondered whether it will sound better in a heavier tonearm.
@lewm teh effective mass of the Triplanar can be adjusted somewhat by using a different weight combination.
lewm
13,368 posts
 
Besides internal impedance/ resistance, the other determinant of what SUT to use is based on signal voltage output of the cartridge.  Any MM stage worth its salt is quite happy with 4-5 mV signal voltage at its input.  Since the Urushi output is ~0.5mV, you can readily understand that a 1:10 step-up ratio is perfect.  Such a SUT running into a 47K load resistance will give an effective impedance of 470 ohms (47,000/100).  That would work fine too.  

The rule of thumb in connecting audio components is that you want the output impedance of the driving stage to be about 1/10 of the input impedance of the driven stage.  This goes for preamplifiers driving amplifiers, amplifiers driving speakers, etc.  In the phono world, it's even a looser relationship.  Ratios much lower than 1/10, e.g., 1/100 and lower often work fine.  Likewise, you can sometimes break the rule and use a higher ratio of output to input impedance (e.g., >1/10).  The only thing bad that can then happen is you eventually lose high frequency response and gain.  Anyway, with the Urushi, a 1:10 SUT, and a 47K load, you are in very safe territory.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 

@lewm I am thinking about mounting my Urushi in my FR64S with an Orsonic AV101 headshell.




@nandric  The (heavy) Orsonic  AV 101 is my favourite.


I’m looking for the headshell to mount my Miyabi cartridge, actually i’ve been looking for Orsonic AV101B (black), i have AV101S (silver) in original box on its way.

Anyone would like to swap black for silver ?

There is something in design of this headshell that i like, but maybe my AudioCraft is even better.

Why the Orsonic is so popular ? 
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