Behind the Lens

REVIEW
REVIEW
Those tiny coils only generate
.3mv of output, so both the BAT VK-
P6SE we recently reviewed (55db
of gain) and the phono section of
the Audio Research GSPre (56dB)
can’t muster enough gain to use
the Onyx Platinum successfully.
Switching to the Rogers PA-1A with
12AX7 tubes (65dB), the Pass Labs
XP-25 (72dB max) and the Simaudio
MOON LP 610 (72dB max) gets the
job done handily.
More music!
Thirty seconds into the ORG 45
r.p.m. remaster of Duke Ellington’s
Jazz Party in Stereo, and you’ll
know what the Koetsu magic is all
about. Cymbals have seemingly
endless decay, and the horns bleat
with texture, presence and authority.
That being said, Cheap Trick’s In
Color sounds pretty damn cool too,
with Rick Nielsen’s crunchy guitars
having enough bite to feel like one
of his Marshall stacks are right here
in my listening room.
The wider the range of music
in your collection, the more you
will appreciate the Onyx Platinum.
Comparing it to the other super
duper cartridges we’ve lived with
long term, it feels somewhere between
the spectacular Clearaudio
Goldfinger and the Lyra Atlas, with
the Goldfinger being even meatier,
weightier and more substantial
sounding, yet not quite as neutral
tonally as the Atlas. All three are
amazing, yet if I had all three, the
Koetsu would be my daily driver.
Where some cartridges come
across as warm, throwing resolution
out by the roadside, the Koetsu
is more gentle, striking a perfect
balance of being ever so slightly
forgiving, yet resolving the slightest
details at the same time. Yet
the presentation offered from this
cartridge goes beyond that. If
you’ve spent much time with single
driver or full range electrostatic
speakers, they offer a seamless,
cohesive, holistic presentation that
no speaker system with multiple
drivers can recreate in the same
way. What they lack in presenting
the last few molecules of dynamic
punch or extension is nothing in
comparison to the organic recreation
of music they offer.
The Koetsu Onyx Platinum is
very similar in the sense that the
music coming from it unfolds in
a way that this unique continuity
settles in rather than jostling you
into submission. The other highdollar
cartridges are equally compelling,
yet in different ways – and
much like a Quad 57 speaker, if
you love the way it presents music,
nothing else will do.
That sums up the performance
of the Koetsu Onyx Platinum
phono cartridge. If you get
the opportunity to hear one and
love the way it presents recorded
music, it will probably gnaw away
at you until you can possess one.
While there are plenty of other
great phono cartridges costing
a lot less money – and you
don’t need to spend $10k on a
cartridge to enjoy music – if you
want this experience, this is what
it costs. And if you fall prey to its
spell, you will write the check,
happily. l
160 TONE AUDIO NO.75
November 2015 161