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I have lived with the Koetsu Onyx Platinum also and I agree.  I did not really enjoy it very much in my system no matter what I did.  However, honestly, when I first heard Koetsu many years ago (it was a Rosewood Pro IV), I was really drawn in by the sound.  I thought it was very lush and velvety.

The musical experience is like any other; as we gain more experience, we become more refined in our perception.  I compare it to wine drinking for example.

The novitiate is concerned mostly with how alcoholic the wine is: “That’s some strong wine!”

Later one may distinguish between types: “I prefer red wine to white.”

Still later, perceiving basic structures: “That’s really got a smooth finish!”

Then focusing on certain qualities: “I love a concentrated, fruity wine!”

Then more nuance: “It reminds me of the 1958 vintage, when the harvest was late and the field nearby was full of raspberries.  I see what the winemaker was trying to do here with this blend.”

And so on.

Now, in stereo reproduction, it is the same, sometimes, most audiophiles are in the earlier stages, maybe they are focusing on soundstage, or inner detail, or something.  And of course the problem is that sometimes when you do this, you try to force the stereo to accentuate these qualities at the expense of simply allowing the music to flow through.  Then you get a stereo that the one person likes, but to others it is unlistenable, because they are looking for other different qualities.

So in the Koetsu, the goal was to make a lush artificially emotion-heavy cartridge, and create passion even where there was none.  This was ok for some tastes.  But then in the Onyx, there is an attempt to steer this in a different direction toward more inner detail etc.  This is a bit like changing the floor plan after the foundation is already laid, if you understand me.

So the sound suffers.  It ends up artificially trying to boost things in a few directions but really not able to achieve either, and certainly it is no longer a true conduit of the Sound..  I remember the Onyx as lacking the seductive lush tone of the early Koetsus, reserved, accurate, not quite neutral, not quite passionate.  It was a good compromise and balance for someone seeking certain qualities of artificial emotion and accuracy in a cartridge, but it was hard to pay $3500 for that.

The person who loves this cartridge has listened to every cartridge and is in love with the idea of inner detail.  But he has loved the big emotional tube amps and is familiar with the lush sound of Koetsu in the past.  When the Onyx appears, it is like a dream.  The lush history of Koestsu but now listen to all the wonderful inner detail.  How wonderful.  This is why I think it got so many great reviews.  It was kind of tailor made to a set-up audience. 

Now of course there is no specific deception.  The Koetsu is an honest product, a great product.  The perfect cartridge for some people.  However, in my system, it was trying too hard to force the sound in a certain way; it was not elegant.  I think also for Romy, his system is a bit too refined and looking at more subtle goals for the Koetsu to be a good fit.

Regards,
Adrian

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