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Home » Analog Playback» The mystery of Koetsu Onyx Cartridges. (53 posts, 3 pages)

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10-16-2011

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mem916
San Diego, CA
Posts 52
Joined on 10-14-2011

Post #:	51
Post ID:	17178
Reply to:	17177

More things for me to explore...

Hmmm... Now I have something else to play with. Next time I am set up to record I will make yet another pass at firebird with the Tascam set to 88.2 so I can see if I can hear any degradation in my downsamped 88.2 file. I wonder if some converters try to do more than they should when going from 176.4 to 88.2? I suppose if someone were very serious they could dig into this and use a program to compare the result with the source to see if it simply skips ever other sample like I think it should, or if it is messing around with the data in the resulting samples.

I can understand not liking the 48K clock if you are interested in making CDs but it sounds like you have other reasons too. I will have to poke around on your site and look for your notes on 48K. (I just like the round numbers. Smile

)

Romy the Cat wrote:

Yes, I can play and can record everything. However, I do not have in my A/D that I used the 48X recording modes configured in the way how I would like them to be. It is not difficult to do but I would like do not do it as I against the 48K clock and with no one use it. So, naturally I would like do not breed the 48X file.
mem916 wrote:
As for downsampling from 176.4 to 88.2 it is a very simple operation (throw away every other sample).
It is correct only theoretically. In practice I never was able to change sample rate twice with destroying Sound, remind you that Pacific is the best rate converter the I ever see and it still does not it trouble-free. If you read my site more thenj you will learn that I advocate digital hygiene: is a file was ever DSP touched after conversion then it is not the file but a digital surrogate.

The Cat

10-17-2011

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mem916
San Diego, CA
Posts 52
Joined on 10-14-2011

Post #:	52
Post ID:	17179
Reply to:	17178

Hmmm

I think I've worn myself out.

I was able to determine that my CD player does damage the 88.2 when it upsamples to 192. However comparing the two 88.2 files yours does seem to have more impact, more speed in the attack of the drums for instance. Unfortunately it also sounds harsher to me than my 88.2 file. That harshness detracts from the experience too much for my taste and spoils the illusion that I am listen to live music in a hall. They are both really good though and I like them both, just prefer mine.

The vinyl is a lot better than any of the files (either the 88.2's or my previous 96).

Mark

12-04-2015

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mem916
San Diego, CA
Posts 52
Joined on 10-14-2011

Post #:	53
Post ID:	22289
Reply to:	17179

I upgraded to the diamond cantilever version

Well so my Coralstone reached the ripe old age of 4.5 years and something over 2500 hrs this fall so I thought it was probably time to rebuild it. Then I got to thinking about the diamond cantilever option (which can be added to the rebuild at a much higher cost). Finally settled on buying a brand new cartridge with the diamond cantilever which arrived this week. I don't think any comparison between a new Koetsu and one with a bunch of hours on it that realistically should have been rebuilt at least a year ago is all that useful. But here goes anyway.

The new one Coralstone measures 5.5 dB louder on a 1000 Hz test tone than the old one. Based on my memory at least some of that increase is due to some change in the cartridge as I don't recall ever setting my volume so low when listening to this particular record (Firebird again).

After making sure I had the same levels set I did a back to back listening comparison between the two and what stood out was that individual notes seem much more "distinct" with the new cartridge. The "blattiness" of the horns was more pronounced. The sense of the recording space and the low level echoes from various instruments were more apparent. Overall the recording sounded more natural and much closer to the experience of hearing a live symphony in the concert hall.

I made two sample recordings at 24/192. I did normalize the recording of the old cartridge to match the new one (had to adjust by 1.2 dB or so). They can be downloaded here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2ceYgRGBXdbTVBoeWViYnpLSGc

If anyone is interested in listening to the differences.

Note: I haven't broken in the new one, and haven't even gotten serious about adjusting VTA or azimuth yet.

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