Best Koetsu for SME V

Paladin: Is the Grandezza arm a good match for the SME 20/2 ? Is the table worthy the arm?
Thanks (Sorry Smoffatt)

Excuse my ignorance, but I did'nt think there were great differences in Wt, compliance etc, between the Koetsu's. The distinction is sound and output, basically .47mvish, against.27mvish for the platinum. The latter had more detail and neutrality across the frequency range. I am also agnostic about body composition, having heard the Onyx and using the Rosewood Signature, I can't hear great difference. If I was paying more it would be for platinum coils, not expensive body materials.

Hi,

I use a Rosewood Signature Platinum on an SME V and a Oracle V. There's a big difference in frequency extension ,especially in the upper end detail with the low output Koetsu. I came away from a Helikon and Benz Ruby 2 and the harmonic "rightness" and upper end extension of the RSP is superior to my ears

Dear Smoffatt: I like the Platinum series but not in a SME. I wonder why with that TT/tonearm are you looking for a Koetsu?

For your kind of music and with your analog rig the Dynavector XV-1 or the Lyra Titan could be great choices.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I tend to agree with Raul here as I have found that matching the arm with Koetsu's is the key to performance. For many years I owned a Black which I had rebuilt by the now deceased Garrott Bros and it was a great cart in the right arm and in the wrong arm (mid -low mass) it just sounded warm and friendly, but bland. I have a soft spot for Koetsus and recently I picked up a Rosewood Sig that had been retipped by VdH but the body has about 20 years vintage. I was blown away by how solid this was in the bass and extended in the highs on a high mass damped arm -in this case a Micro-Seiki Max 282. It also sounds really good on my Triplanar. I thought I would need a RS Platinum to get that extension at the top end. I should also mention that I am getting better results on my SP 10 heavy plinth direct drive than on my belt drive Micro-Seiki RX 5000. Someone here on another post mentioned that Sugano-san voiced the carts on a Lenco idler DD deck, hmm, interesting.

Bottom line is the SME / Koetsu match will not get the best out of the wood body carts unless you are prepared to play around a lot with the damping. I cannot comment on the jade / onyx bodies, but would love to hear from those with experience of those.