Need advice for a replacement phono cartridge

@mulveling 

😄👍

I love my Namiki Urushi fountain pens. So typical of Japanese workmanship. Take a classic design and iterate over and over again improving it to be world class. Meticulous commitment to perfection.  Like my Koetsu cartridge.

@mijostyn 

Good one. Yes, I really enjoy Japanese and for that matter Chinese music. But in particular the Japanese esthetic and incredible commitment to iterative improvement on a design committed to musical fidelity. I wish I could have a second Japanese high end audio system. 

@mijostyn 

I will admit I do like Swiss cheese.  Do you think that is why I like Koetsu? Or maybe it was because I used to live in Japan… or maybe it is a spectacularly good sounding cartridge. 

OP,

I own a Koetsu Rosewood Signature. A fantastic cartridge, while detailed it is extremely natural and musical. My previous cartridge was a Van den Hull Frog. No comparison between the two. The Koetsu is magically musical, forgiving, and detailed. As opposed to some no holes barred detailed oriented that can make many albums sound bad. This cartridge perfectly fits my values for sound quality. I couldn’t recommend the company more.