I have the Urushi black. I use 1k ohm and have been very happy. I tryed many different settings and found that to be best for my system. I also like the 47K setting but not as much.
BTW I have the Nagra VPS. My weight is also 1.90 no problem, recommended is 1.8-2.0.
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Do what sounds best. 1kOhm is what I used on an Urushi. But your own ears will be the best judge as all phono stages are different. |
1k ohm is actually 100 ohms in real life loading. That is the recommended loading for the koetsu. Although mine is at 150 ohms at the moment and i'm happy with it. |
When I used a Urushi Black with the XOno the settings were 475ohms, VTF 1.922 and the tail was lifted slightly. I also used it with a Joule OPS-1 @ 47kohms with a VTF 1.922 was the last setting, tried 1.863 - 1.960. I switched carts before the 1kohm resistors for the OPS-1 came, I think it would have sounded better at that loading. |
I have a Koetsu jade. The ballpark starting point for loading a MC is 25 x resistance (5ohms) thus 125 ohms for a Koetsu.
I run mine at 500-1000 ohms. I tried 100 ohms and it was too closed in. I've also run it at 47 kohms but I think it sounds more organic below 1000 ohms.
I've noticed that people with good tube preamps tend to run them higher than with solid state. I think above 1000 ohms you lose some of the magic, IMHO.
VTF is set at 1.95 gms with the back of the cartridge very slightly down.
There's no one perfect set up. Try 100, 500, and 1000 and fine tune from there. |
Yeah i ve turned the weight down a little , 1.91 grams at the moment .
I dont know why people call it overly warm or slow i would call it realistic at least in my set up which is not very "bloomy" in the first place ,dynamics are also fine in my view. |
Andromedaaudio, I am notorious (in my own mind) for misreading other people's posts, but I don't see where you have specified which Koetsu you own. Among the "non"-Platinum non-stone-bodied Koetsus, I think the Urushi is unique in that it has better defined bass response and more extended highs than the rest. My point is that the Urushi might sound different from a Rosewood or Rosewood Signature, depending upon the load. I have always loaded my Urushi at 100 ohms and despite my now having been exposed to a number of other very good cartridges, I remain happy with it. The other guys have got me to thinking I should try 1000 ohms or slightly below, but I would bet that the Rosewood et al would be best with such a load. I did try 47K ohms with Urushi and found the sound a bit too thin and clinical for my tastes. This is with all-tube electronics driving ESL speakers. |
Lewm,
How are the Rosewood different than the Urushi ?
Now have a rosewood & thinking of Urushi down the line.
Which model of Urushi do you own ?
Noli |
I think all Urushi's are the same, but I own the one that is black with gold flecks of paint on it (can't remember the Japanese name for that). The Vermillon (red) may sound different from the rest because reportedly it has different coils. At one point, I read that the blue Urushi has silver-wired coils but then it turned out it has silver-plated copper wire, like all the others, or so it was recently written. I have read all sorts of different assertions about what is inside the various different forms of the Urushi. All I know is that I am very fond of mine. |
I have an Urushi Wajima, if a cartridge doesnt have extended highs you would have to see considerable loss of output higher up the frequency range, i reckon all the koetsus will stay within plus minus 0,5 dB over the range 2o hz 2o khz or maybe even smaller , i have not seen any measurements anywhere . |
That's it. I think mine is a Tsugaru. The common belief of those who are not so fond of Koetsu cartridges is that they are lacking in the frequency extremes, highs and lows. Most listener's would agree that the midrange is sublime. I would take it for what it's worth, just someone else's opinion. The Urushi does not have the best bass response I have ever heard, but it is more than adequate. The high frequencies are silky nice. Others have written that the Urushi has a broader response with better definition from top to bottom than do the other Koetsus in its near price range, which would most likely include the Rosewood and Rosewood Signature. I am not qualified to judge, since I never heard a Rosewood, etc, in my own system. I am curious about the Platinum series. I asked the Japanese dealer from whom I bought my Urushi if he would send it back for rebuild as a Platinum, but he was not interested. |
Thanks to all who replied. The Urushi would be something to aspire in the near future. |
You can see some measurments if you go to almost live audio's websire. I think it's almostliveaudio.com, or just google almost live audio. There is alink from there to Koetsu's and their measurments.... If Samhar did not mention it, and he may have, he has a Rose Sig, and move to a Urushi. My memory has it that he has not looked back since. I had a standard red, and an RSP, and there was no comparison. I run the Jade now, and enjoy very much. My guess is that i will always have a Koetsu is the stable. |
Fjn04
I did have the Rosewood listed as a Sig because of the shape of the body, it came with my TT and I wasn't sure which it was so re-listed it as a Rosewood not a Rosewood Sig. Also the difference between the Urushi Black and the Rosewood was great enough I couldn't imagine it was a Sig!!! The Urushi needs a rebuild, the stylus isn't straight so I tried another brand cart, it wasn't that I didn't like/love the Urushi I just wanted to expand my experiences!!! |
Personally after trying the rosewood in my system, there was no turning back. Koetsu is really very different from most of the carts i tried. But again, to each his own. |
The measurements on almost live tell nothing of the output at a certain frequency, what i sometimes read about listening experiences of koetsus and the cheaper models in particular is that they have a roll off at the frequency extrememes.
There are a lot of speakers on the market which have that as well , so if one has the frequency response of a certain cartridge one can rule the cartridge out as a factor. |
Samhar, Thanks for clarifying. It's always good when you can try other cartridges. I won't ask the details of your experience, as it get's off the original subject here.
I am also trying a new cartridge on a new TT, not my Basis/Vector setup. I am enjoying it quite a bit, and perhaps it is a better value than the Koetsu. That said, it does not have that Koetsu midrange thus far. Andromeda-sorry the specs list on Almost Live audio did not have the spec's you are looking for. It is the only Koetsu specs I have seen. |
