Koetsu cartridges - myth or reality?


Hi guys - I am looking to upgrade my 1 year old Dynavector xx1 MC cartridge - I have heard (and read) for many years that Koetsu cartridges are a great option for those looking for musicality, right timbre and lush-sounding analog.

Digging further I find that some cathegorize them as slow sounding, not great tracking and poor price/performance ratio as well... I am looking for advise from those who have experience with Koetsu - particulary those who moved from a fast sounding cartrdige like Dyna, Clearaudio or Lyra - missing anything once you moved?

Thanks

Fernando
128x128flg2001

Showing 2 responses by fjn04

I have also been trying to figure out the best matching tonearm for my Jade Platinum. I have just changed amps, and
my system will be back up and running after having been down
for a long 6 weeks. I have had the KJP mounted on my Vector
3 w/ Basis 2500 TT. I have felt as if the Vector 3/ KJP match
may indeed not be optimal. However, I had to address the fact
that my amp was not a good match with my speakers first. I
should have a better idea of where I am at after my new amp
is setup, a Vac Phi 300.1 btw. I guess that I would remind
Fernando that the RSP and all wood bodied Koetsus may give
a bit more options with tonearm choice, as they are lighter
than the stone bodys. I am surprised to hear that the SME
would not work well, as I know of at least one person using this combo w/ great success. He has the SME 5 though. I have
got feedback from two other sources who say the SME's would
work well w/ the Stone series. The other arm that is supposed to be a nice match is the Phantom, , as Gerrym5 uses. Other than that, this has been a tough two nuts to crack.
Well, it seems as if we know which arms do not mate well
with the Stone Koetsu's. It is rather unusual that there
are not many unanimous opinions as to which tonearms do.
This is likely my next step, now that I have my Vac amp
in and sounding so good. If I stay with my Basis 2500, I
would likely replace my Vector 3 with a Phantom. It will
take some time, as I must recup from the amp purchase and
the Grahams take a while to get. I have the Jade Platinum,
which I may have mentioned earlier in this post.