I've Got Wood!

[Voltron]

I agreed to trade my RSA XR-10B for a Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum cartridge, which arrived yesterday for a trial before I ship out the phono stage. I gritted my teeth and decided that, dammit, the first cartridge I ever install might as well be a $6,000 wood cartridge without a cantilever cover for protection! The cart was re-tipped already by van den Hul due to a defect that was original, so you will see the sticker in place on the cart.

I had a couple beers to steady the nerves, and spoke with my life coach, JP Numbers, to get some perspective and some tips on how not to break off the tip of this beautiful creation. After various oaths and regrets that I had already sold my soul a couple of times in other tight situations, I managed to mount, align, set VTF and roll this bad boy! I am curious if JP will have the same reaction when he hears it tomorrow night before our "jazz class" at SF Jazz, but I am feelin' it and very happy in my trade.

Here are a few pics, although my camera and flash card are not cooperating at the moment. More later, and I hope to have even better impressions once my nerves are settled. The Ike Quebec album playing right now is soothing them pretty well, in conjunction with my glass of scotch, that is.

[riceboy]

What a beauty I'm sure it sounds great Voltron and congrats

[Voltron]

Thanks Ricey!

[Smeggy]

Wow, nice woody there Voltron old bean!

Remember, give it a good spray of Pledge every day to keep it shiny and smelling nice

[Voltron]

Everything is so damn dusty! More action shots:

[Smeggy]

Wooo, whats that sexy arm there? I didn't notice it before but it has a look to it. Yes, I think I like the cut of it's jib!

[Duggeh]

I don't think I could bring myself to do what you did, I was nerves enough installing my 440mla. Its a pleasure to see this thread instead of the horrible alternative, I'll bet that thing sings.

[909]

really nice wood cart, now make it naked!

[Blackmore]

Congrats, man, looks really Dutch=nice;D

[Salt Peanuts]

Congrats on your new cart, Al! Looking at your table makes me wish I still had my vinyl rig.

[The Pieman]

Looking at that is why have started putting together the bits for a vinyl rig. Mind you nothing remotely in this class.

Good one.

[postjack]

gorgeous new cart Al! grats on setting up your first cart. to me it was a maddeningly frustrating but ultimately extremely satisfying experience.

[agile_one]

Congrats, Al! That is one gorgeous setup, and you've got to feel proud and happy for successfully mounting and adjusting the cart yourself. Photos are great - nothing like aluminum, wood, moving belts, and spinning vinyl to get our attention.

[Torpedo]

Congrats Al. How does it sound? Do you like it? I hope so

[atothex]

Baller.

Congrats.

[laxx]

That's alot of dust. =T

[Dreadhead]

so where does the cd go?

Congrats on the install and the new cart

[GPH]

Wow, big money in a little package, that cart costs something like 60$/cm

[Grahame]

It is important to consult your chums on head case immediately to avoid a rare but potentially serious condition if you experience listening sessions lasting longer than 4 hours.

Side effects may include, dry mouth, lightened wallet, increased postings.

[aardvark baguette]

I know nothing of carts, but that one certainly looks nice

[Voltron]

Thanks for the comments fellas. It was nerve-wracking but very satisfying as postjack suggests. If the mounting piece was self-threading it would have been much easier but those tiny nuts kept slipping through my grasp! I am going to have JP check everything out this evening. Also,

JP has heard my rig enough to be able to comment on the SQ improvement/change, and I am looking forward to hearing what he thinks.

It was getting late last night by the time I had everything in place, so I only heard it at a louder volume for a short time. The rest of the evening I was playing it pretty quiet, so I am trying not to leap to conclusions without much time or ability to really hear what this cart is doing. Still, the first improvement I noticed was better range on my preamp volume control because the cart is so low output. With the Skala, even the lowest click on the attenuators was pretty loud so that is a nice change. Next, I felt that the sound had a richer, fuller, more lush presence, which is what Koetsu is known for. Jennifer Warnes sounded damn good but Lightnin' Hopkins and Ike Quebec's smokey sax sounded even better. I want to spin Sarah Vaughn and Jacintha to get a good feel for what it does with female vocals. The other thing that was already good about the rig with the Skala but seemed more "right" with the Koetsu in my limited time was the image and soundstage. It had a very natural presentation that was still precise.

Overall, I got the sense that this cart is going to make me very happy and I hope that new sound will come through on needle drops if I can get around to making some soon.

[luvdunhill]

Thanks for the comments fellas. It was nerve-wracking but very satisfying as postjack suggests.

Al, as someone who obsesses about cartridge alignment, I'd recommend the relatively cheap investment of an arc protractor. While the Wally Tractor might be the bees-knees, I'd go with either the MintLP or even the cheaper one made by KWILLIS on Audio Asylum. These options run the gamut in terms of price, but the KWILLIS is around $50 I believe. The nice thing is they are optimized for your arm / cartridge combination. The improvement of a properly aligned cartridge is quite simply work the added effort.

enjoy!

[Voltron]

Yeah, I don't fit into that particular obsession, but I used the VPI alignment jig to the best of my ability. Here is a pic of what I used (the black one) and the pic is a link to an article about it.

Wooo, whats that sexy arm there? I didn't notice it before but it has a look to it. Yes, I think I like the cut of it's jib!

Smeggy, the arm is the VPI Memorial 10.5i. I am not well versed in the alternatives, but this one suits this table very well in my opinion.

Edited February 4, 2009 by Voltron

[tyrion]

Al, as someone who obsesses about cartridge alignment, I'd recommend the relatively cheap investment of an arc protractor. While the Wally Tractor might be the bees-knees, I'd go with either the MintLP or even the cheaper one made by KWILLIS on Audio Asylum. These options run the gamut in terms of price, but the KWILLIS is around $50 I believe. The nice thing is they are optimized for your arm / cartridge combination. The improvement of a properly aligned cartridge is quite simply work the added effort.

enjoy!

Thom Mackris sent me an arc protractor. He claims it's a must have for table set up. I wonder if Oz, got it out of his mailbox so he can check the alignment on my table.

[luvdunhill]

Thom Mackris sent me an arc protractor. He claims it's a must have for table set up. I wonder if Oz, got it out of his mailbox so he can check the alignment on my table.

If it's from Thom, it's possibly the MintLP as he really pimps those. There was a point where he was handing them out for free, so he has the ability to produce them definitely.