"HELP" tired Koetsu

Firstly. for $5500 donero's it better sound like the master tape[whatever that sounds like].For that kind of money there are some great blues bands in my area that I could hire every Saturday for the better part of the year that would sound "better" than the master tape! All kidding aside...I do appreciate the input; however thats a little over the top for my budget... as my better half already thinks I'm a certified wacko as it is.

Maxgain, I have had a number of disagreements with Moncrieff's opinions in the past. I have no way of knowing what this MDB cartridge sounds like personally, and he may be right on the mark.

But after reading enough reviews, you can sort of judge what the guy is saying by certain statements. And add to that the typical sonic flavor of the rest of the stable of highly regarded Euro carts, and the conclusion that I'm obviously jumping to, is pretty clear. I've heard similar comments about alot of Euro cartridges, and the fact is that they're real good at tracking and getting all the steps right, but they can't dance.

Twl, I have also liked the cartridges from Japan myself. I was a big fan of the FR you mentioned and the old Dennon 103D, I owned a Shinnon Red Boron Improved(not perfect but fun), loved the Talasman Virtuoso Boron. Never could affort the Koetsu thing( a friend had a "nude" Rosewood Signature) The best cartridge I ever owned though was a chain smoking Euro trash unit. An old EMT. Man I wish I had that thing back!
I bet the Shelter is very good. I just wish the thing put out some more juice. Do they have a web site? I can't seem to find anything about them or anyone that sells them.

Ecclectique, have you seen the price of a new Koetsu Rosewood Signature?

Yes, the EMT's were nice. That was in the old days. If they only kept on that track instead of the one they are on now, I wouldn't be saying this stuff. Some of the Ortofons are still good, but no reviewers pay any attention to them. It's like there is some kind of conspiracy to eliminate musical cartridges from reviews or something.

The Shelter is kind of hard to find out about, but there are a couple of reviews on it on the web. They come up on a Google search.

These cartridges are for the people who liked the old style Japanese MC sound, and not everybody does. But for music, you can't beat them. They keep the music "whole" and don't break it into a hundred little audiophile pieces. There is a presentation in these cartridges that gives a lifelike feel, and the emotion is conveyed in a unique way. They don't attempt to achieve numeric perfection, but seek to convey the emotion and soul of the musical performance, and that is what I want out of my system.