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Koetsu Jade v SPU classic v FR 7 fz cartidges

Greetings to all !
I am hoping to get some advice concerning my analogue set up.
I use a Brinkmann La Grange turntable with a FR 66s tone arm.
I bought the FR 66 as a high mass "match" for my Koetsu Jade cartridge which has just been fully rebuilt by Koetsu with diamond cantilever.
The rest of the system is Allnic H 3000 phono stage , Allnic L 5000 line stage, Aklnic A 6000 monoblocks and Quad 2905 speakers / Audiophysic Rhea 2 subwoofers (pair).
I listen to a lot of choral classical music and for this the midrange needs to be really " organic" and free from any harshness or glassiness and , very importantly, the cartridge needs to track demanding loud and complex passages properly.
In this latter regard I am not 100% convinced by the Koetsu. It has been professionally installed in the FR 66 using proper alignment tools and is mounted in an Orsonic headshell. Yet to my ears it gets " nervous" in certain demanding passages of music .
I have tried increasing the VTF to 2.5 grams (the maximum recommended is apparently 2.2 gm ?) and this does seem to improve things but I assume that this will have som negative effects given it is some way over the " limit".
I just bought a " standard" SPU Classic (with spherical stylus) in the integrated headshell and, tracking this at 4 gm, I was instantly bowled over by the " organic" midrange in the type of music referred to above.
After a series of "A/B" comparisons with the Koetsu I am struggling to say I really prefer the Koetsu to listen to in my system , although it clearly has greater frequency extremes, transparency and detail than the basic SPU ( it costs over ten times as much !!)
I was wondering if anybody out there has had similar experiences with Koetsu stone bodied cartridges ?
I am now thinking of going for one of the FR 7 cartridges ( fz version) and again would welcome any comments on this and how it might compare to the Koetsu / SPU ?
With kind regards,
Howard
128x128howardalex

Showing 3 responses by lewm

lewm
12,565 posts
 
As an owner of an FR64S and of two Orsonic 101 headshells (but alas no FR headshells), I have been following this interesting discussion. I have every reason to believe that my two Orsonics are OEM, but I cannot say I have much experience with them, as of yet. Sometimes the fit between tonearm A and headshell X can affect sonics, if the mating is not perfect. The headshell may wiggle in such a case, which is very bad for transduction. Is there any indication that the fit between an FR tonearm and the Orsonic headshell could contribute to problems cited by Halcro and Syntax?

Howardalex, The H3000 has built-in SUTs for low output cartridges, so those are the SUTs you are using. Forgive me for my pedantry, if this was implicit in your response.
lewm
12,565 posts
 
Subjectively, I thought my Orsonic 101 and my FR64S fit pretty snugly, too. But I have yet to audition the combo.

Someone else asked an interesting question: How do you tell the difference between a "real" Orsonic and a "fake" one? One of mine is known to be OEM, because I got it from a friend who owned it for 30 years, at least. The other I think I bought used off eBay; there is no discernible difference between the two, so I assume the eBay purchase is OEM too. Is it just a matter of materials used in construction?
lewm
12,565 posts
 
I had come to believe that the "B" in AV101B, stands for Black, as opposed to Silver color.
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