Koetsu

peelaaa

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Apr 29, 2021
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I have a recent urushi tsugaru. It has smooth mounting holes. I know other owners have threaded ones.
What's others experience with that?
Threaded or smooth?
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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I have a recent urushi tsugaru. It has smooth mounting holes. I know other owners have threaded ones.
What's others experience with that?
Threaded or smooth?
Threaded. Also a friend's Wajima bought just last month was threaded. All Urushi models i sold before were all threaded too.
 

peelaaa

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Apr 29, 2021
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I bought mine directly from a dealer in Japan. Both the tsugaru and wajima were smooth. Maybe they make both
 
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jadis

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I bought mine directly from a dealer in Japan. Both the tsugaru and wajima were smooth. Maybe they make both
Maybe another of the mystique of Koetsu :).
 
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jadis

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Macro shot of a Urushi quadrahedron stylus
received_261451899270643.jpeg
 

jadis

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And another, of a Tiger Eye Platinum.

IMG-0cffc3848b94e080cc351a2c8b12a44d-V.jpg

IMG-71374286bf8ebef7c18f24a7596a388f-V.jpg
 

jadis

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Great close up.are you able to tell when the stylus is worn? I cart
Hard. But in my experience, it's the suspension that usually gives in first before the stylus. The Urushi was bought in 2008 and the problem now is the suspension. The Tiger Eye is playing well with no issues, bought circa 2013.
 

mtemur

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Mar 26, 2019
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Hard. But in my experience, it's the suspension that usually gives in first before the stylus. The Urushi was bought in 2008 and the problem now is the suspension. The Tiger Eye is playing well with no issues, bought circa 2013.
+1
that's what I experienced too.
 
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mulveling

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Jul 6, 2017
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My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).
DSC_1020 (2).JPG
 

jadis

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Apr 28, 2010
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My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).
View attachment 86976
Beautiful. And good tip on the EAR SUT. willy keep that in mind for a future project.
 

jadis

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2010
12,356
5,470
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Manila, Philippines
My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).
View attachment 86976
Hi Mike,

I notice that the EAR MC3 has 3 impedance setttings, 4, 12, and 40 ohms. So we plug this SUT into the MM input of a phono stage. What will these 3 different settings do to the sound?
 

Addicted to hifi

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My ~20 year old RSP is back from being loaned to a friend, so I spun it up again. Sounds as good as ever. No signs of suspension or stylus wear. Actually, possibly better than ever - it really likes the EAR MC-3 transformer. Anyone else try their Koetsus with an EAR SUT? The EAR and Koetsu SUTs stand well above CineMags, Hashimoto, and Lundahl in my stable. Ortofon Japan headshell. Ortofon silver/copper leads with the clear insulation showing slight greening after some years now (ugh).
Very nice.
 

Ralphio

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May 11, 2015
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So I own Rhodonite, Blue Tigereye diamond and Coralstone mono ... do I owe it to myself to try wood bodied RSP?
Must one be in the collection?
 
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mulveling

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Jul 6, 2017
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Hi Mike,

I notice that the EAR MC3 has 3 impedance setttings, 4, 12, and 40 ohms. So we plug this SUT into the MM input of a phono stage. What will these 3 different settings do to the sound?
They're 3 different gain/ratio taps. The unorthodox ohm/impedance labels are EAR's "guidance" as to what cartridge coil DC resistance they think matches best with each tap. Of course the problem is that optimal matching also depends on output level, and different manufacturers have different ratios of coil ohms to output levels (Benz ruby plate models being particularly difficult to match to a SUT due to their low output per ohm). They are roughly 28x (4 ohms), 18x, and 10x ratios on the MC-3. The newer MC-4 has 3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms taps for roughly 30x, 24x, 18x, and 10x ratios.

On my MC-3, the 4 ohms is by far best for Koetsus (which all have 5 ohms coils). No telling whether 4 ohms or the MC-4's 6 ohms tap is the better match, yet. I have an MC-4 on order (they are backlogged so it will be a while) to find out :)

So I own Rhodonite, Blue Tigereye diamond and Coralstone mono ... do I owe it to myself to try wood bodied RSP?
Must one be in the collection?
If you've got the Koetsu bug (which it seems like), go for it! I've got a mix myself (2 Onyxes, Coralstone, Blue Lace Diamond), have had Koetsu rebuilds, and they all have a different flavor to sound. Some (non-Platinum magnets) have a much different flavor to sound. I suspect final factory fine-tuning and motor selection can have as much influence on the sound as body material (but not as much as magnets!). Of course our enjoyment of the body's beauty factors in as well! I've wanted to add a Rhodenite for a while now.

I've shirked away from using this RSP in the past; it had sounded slightly lightweight in bass (relative to stones). But in the past few years system upgrades have happened, gear changes, and I quit drinking which does at least slightly affect my hearing preferences. These sober ears need a softer top end now - I'll be trying some copper cables to replace my silver, lol. And man, that EAR really brings out the low end. It's really a lovely change of pace for the time being with RSP / EAR - very well balanced, smoother & creamier than the Blue Lace Diamond / Koetsu SUT which is more detailed. Time always sorts these things out for me, so we'll see where it goes.

Incidentally I find the Blue Lace very frustrating to photograph. The delicate fine lacing gets so easily washed out with light. Here's another attempt where I had the main face in soft shadow and had to goose the contrast & saturation to bring the grain back.

DSC_1043 (4).JPG
 
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Addicted to hifi

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They're 3 different gain/ratio taps. The unorthodox ohm/impedance labels are EAR's "guidance" as to what cartridge coil DC resistance they think matches best with each tap. Of course the problem is that optimal matching also depends on output level, and different manufacturers have different ratios of coil ohms to output levels (Benz ruby plate models being particularly difficult to match to a SUT due to their low output per ohm). They are roughly 28x (4 ohms), 18x, and 10x ratios on the MC-3. The newer MC-4 has 3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms taps for roughly 30x, 24x, 18x, and 10x ratios.

On my MC-3, the 4 ohms is by far best for Koetsus (which all have 5 ohms coils). No telling whether 4 ohms or the MC-4's 6 ohms tap is the better match, yet. I have an MC-4 on order (they are backlogged so it will be a while) to find out :)


If you've got the Koetsu bug (which it seems like), go for it! I've got a mix myself (2 Onyxes, Coralstone, Blue Lace Diamond), have had Koetsu rebuilds, and they all have a different flavor to sound. Some (non-Platinum magnets) have a much different flavor to sound. I suspect final factory fine-tuning and motor selection can have as much influence on the sound as body material (but not as much as magnets!). Of course our enjoyment of the body's beauty factors in as well! I've wanted to add a Rhodenite for a while now.

I've shirked away from using this RSP in the past; it had sounded slightly lightweight in bass (relative to stones). But in the past few years system upgrades have happened, gear changes, and I quit drinking which does at least slightly affect my hearing preferences. These sober ears need a softer top end now - I'll be trying some copper cables to replace my silver, lol. And man, that EAR really brings out the low end. It's really a lovely change of pace for the time being with RSP / EAR - very well balanced, smoother & creamier than the Blue Lace Diamond / Koetsu SUT which is more detailed. Time always sorts these things out for me, so we'll see where it goes.

Incidentally I find the Blue Lace very frustrating to photograph. The delicate fine lacing gets so easily washed out with light. Here's another attempt where I had the main face in soft shadow and had to goose the contrast & saturation to bring the grain back.

View attachment 87002
Absolutely stunning.
 

Kcin

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Mar 27, 2016
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They're 3 different gain/ratio taps. The unorthodox ohm/impedance labels are EAR's "guidance" as to what cartridge coil DC resistance they think matches best with each tap. Of course the problem is that optimal matching also depends on output level, and different manufacturers have different ratios of coil ohms to output levels (Benz ruby plate models being particularly difficult to match to a SUT due to their low output per ohm). They are roughly 28x (4 ohms), 18x, and 10x ratios on the MC-3. The newer MC-4 has 3, 6, 12, and 40 ohms taps for roughly 30x, 24x, 18x, and 10x ratios.

On my MC-3, the 4 ohms is by far best for Koetsus (which all have 5 ohms coils). No telling whether 4 ohms or the MC-4's 6 ohms tap is the better match, yet. I have an MC-4 on order (they are backlogged so it will be a while) to find out :)


If you've got the Koetsu bug (which it seems like), go for it! I've got a mix myself (2 Onyxes, Coralstone, Blue Lace Diamond), have had Koetsu rebuilds, and they all have a different flavor to sound. Some (non-Platinum magnets) have a much different flavor to sound. I suspect final factory fine-tuning and motor selection can have as much influence on the sound as body material (but not as much as magnets!). Of course our enjoyment of the body's beauty factors in as well! I've wanted to add a Rhodenite for a while now.

I've shirked away from using this RSP in the past; it had sounded slightly lightweight in bass (relative to stones). But in the past few years system upgrades have happened, gear changes, and I quit drinking which does at least slightly affect my hearing preferences. These sober ears need a softer top end now - I'll be trying some copper cables to replace my silver, lol. And man, that EAR really brings out the low end. It's really a lovely change of pace for the time being with RSP / EAR - very well balanced, smoother & creamier than the Blue Lace Diamond / Koetsu SUT which is more detailed. Time always sorts these things out for me, so we'll see where it goes.

Incidentally I find the Blue Lace very frustrating to photograph. The delicate fine lacing gets so easily washed out with light. Here's another attempt where I had the main face in soft shadow and had to goose the contrast & saturation to bring the grain back.

View attachment 87002
Beautiful ,

I use the MC 4 sometimes with Koetsu Jade Platinum and RSP.

Its a toss up on the 4 and 6 ohm inputs. Mostly I run direct to the Io with volume controls.

Do you have any experience with the luxman 8030 & 8020 SUT? I have one on hand will try it in a serious way next.
 

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