Nature of Koetsu carts

rpm33

imo your description is just about perfect.  I had a Rosewood a few years back.  I preferred my Denon 103R.

  If you play lite jazz and female vocals, it might be good - but for dynamic music - no thanks.

  Apparently the Stone Koetsu's are better.

 The Rosewood line of Koetsu cartridges was always known to have a mid range prominent sound. So in my opinion all the responses above are correct. The other models of Koetsu cartridge that are in the same price range or more expensive than the Rosewood are exceptional and offer very good bass response and very decent treble extension. They are great sounding cartridges. Even the Rosewood platinum version outshines the base Rosewood model. In my opinion, the best bang for the buck among Koetsu cartridges is the Urushi. The stone bodied models are probably even better. Heavy tonearm is a must.

Their ''nature'' is their special soul.

I would not describe the Koetsu sound as "samey" or homogenizing.  They have a very dynamic sound, 3D imaging, never fatiguing.  I agree that Koetsu's have a special presentation of midrange but it only emphasizes the musical information that other carts miss. I bet the vermilion is an amazing cart on the correct tonearm.

Maybe I should buy that Urushi after all.  The re-tipping program 
is rather expensive though. Thanks for the input gentlemen.