et tu Koetsu?

Any Koetsu you want is possible when you are a close friend of the importer (NOT the distributer). Fortunately for me, that is the case here. Currently I am running a 'prototype' Urushi body with Rosewood Signature innards. Before this I had a Onyx Platinum Diamond Cantilever. Very nice cartridge, but my continuation of the ol' education comes first.

I got to see, touch, and hear the Tiger Eye Diamond Cantilever that HP currently has...SO BEAUTIFUL. Even so, I think my next Koetsu will be a Rosewood Signature Platinum Diamond Cantilever. That is, when I finish school, of course.

Forgot to mention, I've heard a UP that Extremephono desires. The one I heard was a very special cartridge made for the importer I mentioned. Incredible.

I upgraded to an ordinary Rosewood recently. Prior to that had been using an original HO Glider and the Clearaudio Wood Sigma. I like the Sigma, but the Koetsu is miles ahead in musicality and smoothness. I use the Koetsu straight into a cj PV9A and a Mac C29. It is wonderful, period.

Hi Guys,

I've been in and out of various turntables over the years, not really spending a lot of money on it, and then basically resorted to using CD's through the classy Bel Canto DAC-1 and/or Perpetual Technologies P3A converter mainly for reasons of convenience and because a large collection of my music is on CD. And, I have been quite happy with this sound for the last couple of years.

This all changed a few weeks ago when I picked up a Roksan Xerxes with a Koetsu Rosewood of about 1989 vintage. All I can say is WHAT A GLORIUS SOUND!! If the DAC-1 & P3A is supposedly upsampling to 24bit/96kHz, then I reckon the Koetsu must be doing 1024bit/1096kHz! The musical message and treble coming out of the Koetsu is so superior to CD it's not funny.

After listening to the Xerxes/Koetsu, the sound of CD leaves me cold and uninterested. With CD the imaging is flattened and the sense of 'acoustic space' collapses and becomes one dimensional - as if the soundstage is sucked into a blackhole of mediocrity!

I have had a lot of different cartridges through my house, albeit a bit average, namely: Supex 900E; Shure V15's; Denon DL103/304; Audiotechnica OC9; and some good ones inc. Linn Asak; Dynavector DV17D & the low output XX-1L...but none of these cartridges come even close to the magic produced by the Koetsu Rosewood. I can't imagine the potential of some the more exotic Koetsus some of you guys are using?

So where does the magic come from with Koetsu's?? Is it rare magnets, the lovingly handcrafted winding of the coil by Sugano San Snr etc. ??

Hopelessly addicted to vinyl for now...

Regards,

Steve M

PS: The rest of my system comprises of Supratek Triode amplification (see: www.supratek.biz ); Krell KSA100 & Pass Labs Aleph 3 amp; a pair of large super fast 3.8micron thin-membraned Electrostats; Proac Response 2.5; Yamaha NS1000/1200; other speaker arrays using Raven Ribbons & Accuton Ceramics; Focal Kevlar Transmission Line subs; various other amps using 6550's/300B/6C33CB/211/845/2A3/6B4G /829B & Vaic 302B triodes.