Koetsu Rosewood Vs Rosewood Signature Vs HANA UMAMI RED advice please

Astolfor, what general area is your US residence?

I have a Koetsu Rosewood Platinum, and it is very sensitive to adjustment. It sounded good out of the box, but after careful adjustment sounds positively glorious.

I think that you are well advised to have it set up by a pro, but make sure that he doesn't set azimuth electronically, because that usually means matching crosstalk, and for better cartridges, that can be a serious error. There is a recent thread on this topic.

If I may ask, which SoundSmith cartridge did you have, and why did you dislike it? I ask because I was considering one. Thanks in advance!

Hello @whart . Good to hear from you!

About the K line, I have heard several people say this as well, that the KRSP is the sweet spot. Mulveling says that the difference between KRSP and stone is not large, but that the difference between boron and diamond cantilever is the place to spend. If I have rendered his views correctly.

Anyway, love the cartridge, but with the cost of rebuilding the d/c, I’m kind of thinking about finding a second stringer. Hence the question about SoundSmith.

Are you sure that your stone bodies aren’t simply revealing what was already there? "Cause I don’t think that my KRSP is making up for anything - just the opposite - it doesn’t suffer error gladly. Every time my adjustment gets finer, so does the sound.

Latest adjustment was a panzerholz wand for the tonearm. I hope to have my take on an air bearing design up in a few months, and then maybe I’ll be in the market for a Kuzma like yours!

Thank you Astolfor. That’s exactly the information I needed. Much appreciated.

It seems that our tastes are similar. I don’t like high frequency to dominate either. To my ears, the Koetsu RSP d/c gets it just right: very clean, very pure, a joy, especially with voice. Even Barber’s Adagio for Strings is a pleasant experience, as is Arvo Paert’s Fratres (violin arrangement).

Victoria. Perhaps I could show you around?

@rauliruegas I was talking to the OP, and noting that our tastes seem to be similar. I was simply stating the basis for my inference. If that offends you, I am sorry and should have sought your permission first. Please let us know what you expect of us.

Astolfor, there is a first class sound shop across the Straight of Juan de Fuca in Victoria. I have bought most of my gear there over thirty years. That shop is Sound Hounds (250-595-4434, Tuesday - Saturday).

With the MV Coho ferry operating from Port Angeles to Victoria as of Nov 8, that possibility is re-openning.

Yes, @grk , I have seen it. My ’platter mat’ is a slab of graphite, and it adsorbs contaminants. I noticed a dark patch on the graphite after placing a piece of silicone damping material on it. Since then I’ve discontinued use of Zerodust too.

Fortunately, whatever it is, is tightly bound to the graphite, and so unlikely to contaminate the records.