@terry9
Nothing particularly exciting to report on the stone body differences -- I find them all to be very close to each other; all excellent. I got the Coralstone brand new last year, and right out of the box it blew me away. Got my busted Onyx Platinum rebuilt by Koetsu shortly afterwards, and the Coralstone was definitely better from hour 1 -- it sounds denser and more lifelike from top to bottom, with a slightly lusher and more organic midrange. Definitely more of a music lover’s cartridge, but also very detailed.
That said, after only 30 or so hours on the Coralstone, I switched to the newly rebuilt Onyx for run-in. And now, with some hours and a amp tube change (to a warmer/lusher phase splitter), I’m enjoying it about as much as I was the Coralstone. I’ll have to switch back again and see where that takes me.
I originally bought the Jade and Onyx used (~300 hours each) several years ago. they were extremely similar sounding. You really had to split hairs to say maybe the Jade was a bit airier on top and the Onyx had a bit more warmth down low. The Jade shell is thinner and lighter than the Onyx; who knows if that contributes. Now that the rebuilt Onyx is run-in, it does seem that it's retained a lot of its original sonic nuances...but cleaner and more detailed.
I also have a supposed original Sugano-Sr. RSP with 500 hours (never rebuilt). It’s also very very good but I like the stone bodies a bit better; they have more powerful bass response, which makes them more musically complete and accurate to my ears. And I certainly don’t hear anything syrupy, overly warm, or slow about the RSP (as some have tagged it in the past). Perhaps the character of the RSP has changed quite a bit over the years. I also have an even older non-platinum Onyx that definitely fits the old Koetsu stereotype - warm and technicolor (not so accurate, but beautiful sounding in some ways), lol.
I think the new Koetsus and rebuilds are fantastic. Dead-on channel balance, too. If anything, they’re getting better at making these.
Nothing particularly exciting to report on the stone body differences -- I find them all to be very close to each other; all excellent. I got the Coralstone brand new last year, and right out of the box it blew me away. Got my busted Onyx Platinum rebuilt by Koetsu shortly afterwards, and the Coralstone was definitely better from hour 1 -- it sounds denser and more lifelike from top to bottom, with a slightly lusher and more organic midrange. Definitely more of a music lover’s cartridge, but also very detailed.
That said, after only 30 or so hours on the Coralstone, I switched to the newly rebuilt Onyx for run-in. And now, with some hours and a amp tube change (to a warmer/lusher phase splitter), I’m enjoying it about as much as I was the Coralstone. I’ll have to switch back again and see where that takes me.
I originally bought the Jade and Onyx used (~300 hours each) several years ago. they were extremely similar sounding. You really had to split hairs to say maybe the Jade was a bit airier on top and the Onyx had a bit more warmth down low. The Jade shell is thinner and lighter than the Onyx; who knows if that contributes. Now that the rebuilt Onyx is run-in, it does seem that it's retained a lot of its original sonic nuances...but cleaner and more detailed.
I also have a supposed original Sugano-Sr. RSP with 500 hours (never rebuilt). It’s also very very good but I like the stone bodies a bit better; they have more powerful bass response, which makes them more musically complete and accurate to my ears. And I certainly don’t hear anything syrupy, overly warm, or slow about the RSP (as some have tagged it in the past). Perhaps the character of the RSP has changed quite a bit over the years. I also have an even older non-platinum Onyx that definitely fits the old Koetsu stereotype - warm and technicolor (not so accurate, but beautiful sounding in some ways), lol.
I think the new Koetsus and rebuilds are fantastic. Dead-on channel balance, too. If anything, they’re getting better at making these.