Dear @intactaudio : From some years now LOMC cartridge designs comes with higher output levels than in the past.
That healthy higher output makes a more easy way for phono stages to handle LOMC designs, especially tube electronics but that healthy output comes with a trade-off in the overall cartridge quality performance levels.
If that Etsuro Gold instead of 0.56mv came with say 0.15mv I have no doubt that @mikelavigne will be even more happy that with his already great Etsuro samples quality performance.
Problem is that 0.15mv can be a problem even for SS phono stages. Nothing is perfect but normally lower output mv means less wire in its coils with more powerful magnets as neodymium ones.
Lyra is a good example about when JC started with his Atlas/Etna models and latter on he presented the new same models in low output fashion and owners and reviewers gone with a smaLL PREFERENCE FOR THE LOWER OUTPUT MODELS.
I remember what happened in the past with some of the LOMC cartridges I owned, example: AT MC 1000 that was marketed along its dedicated SUT AT 1000T for its low 0.1mv output or the Ortofon MC2000 that appeared along its dedicated SUT T-2000 for its very low output of 0.05mv and the same was with Audio Note design.
All those cartridges came with very high quality level performance but not easy to handle for phono stages, certainly not tubes designs.
Latter on I remember my first Colibri with a not so lower but certainly not something approaching the Etsuro output, this Colibri had 0.21mv and performed excellent in quality kind of sound. Latter I bougth two other Colibri samples but VDH only offered with higher output and I have to say that nothing like the " original " 0.21mv polymer cartridge body.
Anyway, good that both of you are satisfied with.
R.
That healthy higher output makes a more easy way for phono stages to handle LOMC designs, especially tube electronics but that healthy output comes with a trade-off in the overall cartridge quality performance levels.
If that Etsuro Gold instead of 0.56mv came with say 0.15mv I have no doubt that @mikelavigne will be even more happy that with his already great Etsuro samples quality performance.
Problem is that 0.15mv can be a problem even for SS phono stages. Nothing is perfect but normally lower output mv means less wire in its coils with more powerful magnets as neodymium ones.
Lyra is a good example about when JC started with his Atlas/Etna models and latter on he presented the new same models in low output fashion and owners and reviewers gone with a smaLL PREFERENCE FOR THE LOWER OUTPUT MODELS.
I remember what happened in the past with some of the LOMC cartridges I owned, example: AT MC 1000 that was marketed along its dedicated SUT AT 1000T for its low 0.1mv output or the Ortofon MC2000 that appeared along its dedicated SUT T-2000 for its very low output of 0.05mv and the same was with Audio Note design.
All those cartridges came with very high quality level performance but not easy to handle for phono stages, certainly not tubes designs.
Latter on I remember my first Colibri with a not so lower but certainly not something approaching the Etsuro output, this Colibri had 0.21mv and performed excellent in quality kind of sound. Latter I bougth two other Colibri samples but VDH only offered with higher output and I have to say that nothing like the " original " 0.21mv polymer cartridge body.
Anyway, good that both of you are satisfied with.
R.