Kuzma/Koetsu feedbak??

@whart   Thank you for your thoughtful comments.  You are clearly far more versed in all things audio than I.  I love the idea of having various turntables brought into my home to sample, but as has already been stated, that is, unfortunately, a virtual impossibility.  I agree that the Kronos Pro LE is quite intriguing (and beautiful), but it also costs more than the Kuzma.  Is it worth the difference?  Also, I can get a good deal on the Kuzma, which will result in an even greater cost differentiation between the two.  That is why I have been leaning in that direction.  One last question.......As I mentioned earlier, the cartridge I am leaning toward is the Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum.  Are the stone bodied versions a significant improvement, or are they just cooler looking?

@orenstein- on the sound of the different Koetsu, I’ll defer to those who have owned them and compared them meaningfully. I haven’t had one in my system and I gather than the stone bodied ones are more neutral, but none of the newer Koestus are like the romantic ones of old.
There are several members here that have made the comparisons of cartridges, among them @albertporter. One factor in these is the cost of a factory retip given the price of entry, which is fairly high (one of the reasons some here have explored vintage cartridges or less expensive alternatives).
Where, generally are you located? City/State/Country?
PS: @syntax is also a good resource on these cartridges. 

I own a Kuzma Ref 2, and Ref 313 arm. It is the best table/arm that I have owned. I have owned Basis/Vector, Basis/Graham, and Well Tempered tables. I still own the latter, which I use in little second system. It befuddles me that the Kuzma tables have not caught on in the US, in the way the Kuzma tonearms have. Not sure if I could venture as to why, but that’s all for another conversation. I’m very happy with the Ref 2, and have been using an EMT Tsd-75 on there with very good results. I plan to upgrade my cartridge at one point, and I have no doubt this table/arm combination will be fully capable of realizing the potential of higher performing cartridges. As it stands now, I couldn’t imagine better performance from a $2K cartridge. It’s been a while since I’ve owned Koetsu, and that was Rosewood, RSP, and Jade P.... Of those cartridges, the RSP was the one that I happened to get the best performance from. However, due system changes that took place between the RSP and the Jade, that statement should be taken with a grain of salt. My RSP was a Sugano Sr era, and the Jade was not. I’d sure like to hear a Kuzma XL.

@whart   and @fjn04

Thanks for the additional input and suggestions.
I am located on Long Island, NY.  If you know anybody who might be willing share their sound system in order to sample certain products, I would be quite happy to go over and listen.  On the other hand, I am more than happy to invite anyone who wanted to come this way for some fine noise and equally fine scotch.
Mitch

@orenstein- well, it's not like you are in a back-water. Metro NY is still a pretty big center for hi-fi (I lived there for 36 years before migrating to Texas). Bill Parish, at GTT, is the US distributor for Kronos and I had many good dealings with him over the years. I'm not even sure who handles Kuzma tables in NY metro these days. It is probably worth talking to Scot Markwell, who handles US distribution for Kuzma, at some point. He's a very good guy. I will say whatever route you go, unless the dealer is crazy good at set up (they should be, but who knows?), you should have a good set up done at the outset. The guy I used was Mike Trei, a known quantity and based in NYC.
Jeff at Highwater Sound has my respect though I never did business with him-my recollection was that he sold TW Acustic tables and arms, but a good dealer is a thing of beauty. Have fun!