2. analog
  3. 152882-118910

Koetsu black, lacking bass

Greetings 
i just installed a new koetsu black cartridge. I love the clarity of this cartridge. I was using a lyra kleos , which is a great cartridge but the clarity of the koetsu black is at another level.
does anyone know if the black cart is light in the bass? It seems to me that  the bass sound of my system has diminished with the koetsu. Is this a break-in characteristic? I should mention that I installed a furutech gtx outlet which is still in the break-in phase. I’m using a clearaudio magnify tonearm with a clearaudio performance tt. My preamp is a McIntosh mp1000 with acoustic zen ic cables. Mcintosh ma252 amplifier, focal aria 948 speakers with transparent super speaker cable. Any insight and knowledge would be helpful and appreciated!
thank you
dpoud
larryi
4,033 posts
 
I agree with daveyf about the basic sound character of the Kleos vs. the Koetsu Black.  Something is odd about the setup if the Black sounds more clear but lacking in bass (it could be the original setup with the Kleos was off).

As to which cartridge should sound better, that is a matter of taste.  I don't think modern vs. old design is as much an issue, given that basic design of MC cartridges has not changed much.  
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
dpoud, your tonearm is too light. You have to add head shell weights. To get it right you really have to get a test record like the HiFi News Test Record which will allow you to set the resonance frequency just right. I try to get it between 8 and 10 Hz. Koetsu's have fine bass but they are a very low compliance cartridge and require a heavier arm.

Mike 
dpoud OP
2 posts
 
thank you to all who took the time to answer my questions. I've read somewhere else that adding mass to the headshell improved the sound of the black cartridge. What is the best way to add mass? I've read about people adding pennies to the headshell, which sounds a bit crazy and not something that I want to do. Is there a product out there for adding mass?
thank you
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
There are plenty of companies making varying weight cartridge screws to start with.
A friend has some on his table where the head of the screw is a large brass knob shaped afair which added a decent amount of weight.
Myself I machined a piece of brass to fit top of headshell with two holes to enable screws to pass through.
Yes you then likely still would need longer screws.

But as a test first a tiny bit of blutac with a penny or dime on top of headshell and see if it even helps before going any further.
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,913 posts
 
His Magnify arm is a hybrid magnetic bearing (not as bad as the fully magnetic Clarify, but still), so I’d be wary of adding mass to that system (e.g. the tail wags the dog). Koetsu seems to like high mass AND rigid bearings, AND I haven’t had good results with Koetsu stone on the Clearaudio carbon fiber wand, so the tonearm is definitely in question as a possible culprit here.
More to discover