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"HELP" tired Koetsu

Great Forum Gang! MY DILEMA: I have used a Koetsu Rosewood for over 20 years. I have had it retipped once[about 5 years ago and it is tired again. Should I retip it again? or invest in the Shelter 501? I have "never" heard the shelter however; by reading "between the lines" here and elswhere it sounds like it has a similar voicing [tonally] to my beloved Koetsu[lush].I use the Melco table and 2 tone arms 1) sumiko -The ARM and 2)the ET-2[heavily tweaked].The koetsu performs well in both arms. I also have a Stax [12inch model]in the closet somewhere.As I am sure most of us vinyl "dinasaurs" realize arm/cartridge synergy is of paramount importance.Do you think the shelter will work as well as the Koetsu with any or all of these tonearms? The koetsu was magnificent in the ET-2 and was hoping the shelter would be as well.Of course- I am open to other suggestions and recommendations. Cheers David.
ecclectique
edle
235 posts
 
HI,
Twl....
Where I can buy the Denon 103R?

Cheers......:):):)....
maxgain
526 posts
 
The Grado seemed to me to exagerate surface noise. It drove me nuts and I sold it. I did like the tonal balance and the rest of the sound qualities. Now I seem to have lost my groove, so to speak.
twl
3,251 posts
 
The current equivalent of the 103c is the 103. They dropped the c designation, but it is the same cartridge that they have made since 1961. I had one of those prior to my 103R. The 103R is way better. It has smaller coils of 99.9999% OFC copper, and slightly lower output, and sounds great.

As far as poor tracking goes, that is the fault of the arms that it is used in, not the cartridge itself. The compliance of the 103 is very low, and puts alot of energy back into the arm, and very few arms can really handle this cartridge well. The arm is really causing the mistracking that is heard with this cartridge. It needs a fairly high mass arm, with great bearings.
twl
3,251 posts
 
Edle, I got my 103R from a member called Martin, who advertises a running ad on the Audiogon classified analog section. I haven't checked recently, but the last time I looked, he was selling them for $230. He is in Singapore, and is a reliable vendor. They are not imported into the US, so they can't be gotten here. You must order from overseas. If the ad is not there, use the member lookup, and email him. He will get back to you.
twl
3,251 posts
 
Max, the Celebration does look like the old Supex 900, and it may even be that. I haven't heard one, but when I saw a photo of one, I was encouraged. But $1500 is a bit much for a Supex 900, don't you think?
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