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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
REVIEW MSRP: $9,995 BUY IT AT MUSIC DIRECT http://www.musicdirect. com/p-345416-koetsu-onyxplatinum-mc-phono-cartridge. aspx MANUFACTURER Koetsu CONTACT www.musicdirect.com (NA distributor) VANDERSTEEN introducing the Model Seven Mk II The Best Just Got Better PERIPHERALS Turntables SME30/SME V tonearm, AVID Acutus Reference SP/SME V tonearm, Technics SL-1200 (heavily modified)/SME V tonearm Phonostages Pass Labs XP-25, Rogers PA-1A, Simaudio MOON LP610 Preamplifier Robert Koda K-10, ARC GSPre, Coffman Labs G1-B Amplifier Pass Labs Xs 300 monoblocks, Audio Research GS150 Speakers Quad 2815, GamuT RS5, Dynaudio Evidence Platinum Power IsoTek Super Titan and power cords Cable Cardas Clear, Nordost Frey Praise for the Original Model Seven 2014 Recommended Component Best of Show CES 2014 “ … the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, so powerfully physical was the presence of the singer in the room… musically perfect across the board!” –John Atkinson Best of Show T.H.E. Newport 2014 “… by Saturday the system was pulling into the competition as a Best of Show contender, sounding vivid and very dynamic. By Sunday, this had become one of a handful of rooms that were hard to leave.” –Dennis Davis Best of Show New York Audio Show 2014 “…The sound was stunningly live and musical …Peerless.” –Alan Taffel More Open, More Refined, 100% Vandersteen vandersteen.com • 559-582-0324 • made in the USA 162 TONE AUDIO NO.75 Audio Alternative Fort Collins, CO 970 221 1496 audioalternative.com Audio Alternative Atlanta, GA 770 931 0606 audiovideohifiatlanta.com Audio Connection Verona, NJ 973 239 1799 audioconnect.com Don Better Audio Shaker Heights, OH 216 375 1393 donbetteraudio.com Optimal Enchantment Santa Monica, CA 310 393 4434 optimalenchantment.com Tone Studio Indianapolis, IN 317 423 3050 tonestudioav.com
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Music.Gear.Style. No.75 November 20
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tone style 78 Silvercar A New Parad
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PUBLISHER’S LETTER So many of my
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LIVE MUSIC LIVE MUSIC 14 TONE AUDIO
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FEATURE FEATURE Wonderful Wedgie Na
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FEATURE Though not a Nelson Pass de
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SONIC PRECISION & SOPHISTICATED STY
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MUSIC MUSIC Neil Young Bluenote Caf
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Emotion Be open, be vulnerable, Aud
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MUSIC ( ) future proof + benchmark
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MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC ©Photo by Scott
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MUSIC There’s more where that cam
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The End of Obsolescence The Rebirth
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MUSIC Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series
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Page 51 and 52: MUSIC Appearances can be deceptive.
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Page 63 and 64: MUSIC 2015 NEW PRODUCT Miles Davis
Page 65 and 66: PREVIEW dCS Rossini DAC $23,999 www
Page 67 and 68: PREVIEW PREVIEW Marantz HD-DAC1 $79
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