Koetsu Blue Lace Onyx vs. Coralstone

@terry9
It speaks very highly of your regimen that your stylus is like new after 980 hours. I hope I can say the same! Currently at 350 hours on my Blue Lace.

I have a Clearaudio Double Matrix Sonic Pro, mainly because it's quick enough to use during a listening session without interrupting the flow. It seem to do a great job, but who knows how it compares to Ultrasonic. Ideally I’d have both. And I do need to get more disciplined about re-cleaning records after a few plays!

I now have both. From the examples I have in my system, the Blue Lace is better - more dynamic, more lifelike. Yes the Coralstone is warmer. I like the Blue Lace better. And in either case the diamond cantilever increases detail and clarity over boron, with no apparent downsides (i.e. it’s NOT more analytical, dry, or bright, which are the negative attributes sometimes associated with increased detail). However, the big problem with the diamond cantilever, even more than its initial cost, is that it more than doubles the rebuild cost. Is it worth it in the long run? I’ll have to answer that question for myself, after I account for how many hours mine lasts before it’s time for a rebuild.

I’ve also acquired the Koetsu SUT (late version), which is currently my favorite SUT for these cartridges (over Sky, Lundahl, EAR, Hashimoto HM-7). I’ve got at least 350 hours on my Blue Lace Diamond now. Many days it’s hard to even enjoy anything else. Though once in a while I really enjoy my Shelter Harmony and/or Accord, and find myself thinking "man, this comes really close". I think the Accord in particular, even more so than its big brother, captures some of the essence and beauty of the Blue Lace in a much less exorbitant package. However, other days the gap seems very large again, with the Blue Lace simply crushing all else.

Big fan of the Blue Lace!

@terry9 
Very curious about experiences with Koetsu and a silver Lundahl SUT, as I'm eyeing those options right now. Do you have the amorphous core LL1931/1941Ag or a LL1933/1943Ag?

I currently have a Bob's Devices Sky 40 and LL1931 (copper). With my Coralstone I find the amorphous core LL1931 to be much more detailed and transparent, which a much higher level of spatial information (really stunning). However, this comes at the cost of midbass punch, impact, and some of the organic warmth and musical flow the Coralstone is known for. So I was thinking of trying the LL1943Ag, which has a mu-metal core. But maybe the LL1931Ag is so good it addresses the flaws of the copper-wired version?

I find that the LL1931 pairs beautifully with a Shelter Harmony, btw (but the Coralstone is certainly the better cartridge). 

Thanks @terry9
My phono stage is a VAC Renaissance SE with the LL1931 built-in, and is chock-full of nude Vishays (I counted 36), including the loading slots. I’d previously borrowed a non-SE; the SE model’s Jupiter beeswax caps and nude Vishays make quite a positive difference. I figure I might as well go all-out to the Ag SUT at this point; agreed that the K&K prices are extremely reasonable! What loading value did you settle on for your Koetsu?

@nicknick 
Awesome! I went from an Ortofon Windfeld MC to an Onyx Platinum when I had my "oh, that's where the music's been hiding" moment. You went all out to a Blue Lace w/ diamond cantilever! Now I've got a Coralstone, but I'd love to get a diamond cantilever some day. Heard a lot of amazing feedback on that.

@nicknick
Awesome. And yep, I agree that the US prices are insane lol. Koetsu are actually a good deal in other places. I’ll definitely consider the diamond cantilever when it’s time for a rebuild in a couple years...or maybe much sooner on my Jade!

Enjoy your awesome cartridge!

@terry9
Thanks! For a taste of something different last night, I switched back to my stage’s onboard LL1931, and I have to admit they definitely bring some extra transparency and detail to the table vs. the CineMags. I lose some warmth and bloom from the CineMag, but I’m beginning to think maybe that’s not as accurate. Of course I can also eliminate that extra IC, two connection points, and I have 5 loading options only when using the onboard LL.

I ended up really liking the Coralstone loaded at a net 50 ohms, vs the higher settings (75, 125), and can go down to 25 next time I try. But 50 ohms was sounding extremely well balanced in my system. This phono stage also loads the secondary with nude Vishays. However ,I have the LL1931 set at 16x gain. Any reason why you chose 8x over 16x? 16x helps keep the noise floor dead quiet in my system.