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Etsuro Urushi Gold MC

Cartridge

Relative price

well above typical

Among the 89 cartridges in the catalogue, this one is well above typical.

A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.

Competition record

Assessed against 9 rivals across the sixty systems: 2 head-to-heads won, 48 lost.

Where it gives ground

The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.

  • bass control ×32
  • quietness at rest ×25
  • low-level clarity ×12
  • rhythmic grip ×4

Who it comes up against

van den Hul The Frog

20 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Anchored brief, the van den Hul The Frog keeps the slot decisively.

With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gives up most on bass control.

With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Vertere Groove Runner X gives up bass control under the Anchored weighting.

vibration transmittance speed increasedetsurojapan.com Gold + Stereophile Gramophone Dreams #29

van den Hul The Crimson

15 lost · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Characterful brief, the van den Hul The Crimson keeps the slot decisively.

With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gives up most on bass control.

With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Vertere Groove Runner X gives up bass control under the Characterful weighting.

vibration transmittance speed increasedetsurojapan.com Gold + Stereophile Gramophone Dreams #29

Goldring Eroica HX MC

4 lost · Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Goldring Eroica HX MC keeps the slot decisively.

With the Whest Audio 60Se Pro, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Whest Audio 60Se Pro gives up quietness at rest under the Silent Path weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

van den Hul The Colibri

3 lost · Artisan, Reference

Against the Artisan brief, the van den Hul The Colibri keeps the slot decisively.

With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gives up most on bass control.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Vertere Groove Runner X gives up bass control under the Artisan weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Linn Kendo MC

2 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Linn Kendo MC keeps the slot decisively.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

van den Hul MC One Special

2 lost · Romantic, Twin Arms

Against the Romantic brief, the van den Hul MC One Special keeps the slot decisively.

With the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G), the pairing gives up most on bass control.

With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G) gives up bass control under the Romantic weighting.

almost total lack of groove noise and distortionSoundStage! (Lyle) 2001

Koetsu Azule Platinum MC

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Azule Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Koetsu Onyx Platinum MC keeps the slot decisively.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue MC

0 lost· 2 won · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC takes the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the Etsuro Urushi Gold MC is the stronger cartridge for that brief.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the cartridge position.

Systems it is part of

What the reviewers said

one of the two or three most engaging and authentic sounding Positive Feedback — Etsuro Gold review· Presence & articulation
reference-level transducer Positive Feedback — Etsuro Gold review· Spatial resolution
vibration transmittance speed increased etsurojapan.com Gold + Stereophile Gramophone Dreams #29· Transient attack
authentic sounding Stereophile Gramophone Dreams #29 (Herb Reichert)· Micro-dynamic resolution
authentic Positive Feedback — Etsuro Gold review· Tonal body
33dB channel separation at 1kHz SPEC: channel separation 33dB @1kHz (manufacturer)· Spatial naturalness
inspiring neutrality of timbre, effortless extension Positive Feedback (Weaver) 2019· Tonal body
timbres truer, air more plentiful, dynamics lifelike Positive Feedback (Weaver) 2019· Harmonic texture
width, depth and height expanded to realistic dimension Positive Feedback (Weaver) 2019· Spatial naturalness
unravel the most complex compositions Positive Feedback (Weaver) 2019· Micro-dynamic resolution
the fastest, most pitch-defined bottom end I have heard Positive Feedback (Weaver) 2019· Transient attack

How it scores

Clarity

  • Spatial resolution 82 from listening evidence

Voice

  • Tonal body 79 from listening evidence
  • Presence & articulation 82 from listening evidence
  • Harmonic texture 82 from listening evidence
  • Spatial naturalness 82 from listening evidence

Rhythm

  • Transient attack 79 from listening evidence

LowerVolume

  • Micro-dynamic resolution 79 from listening evidence

Specifications

cartridge typeMC
output mv0.3
internal impedance ohm4.0
recommended load ohm100
tracking force g2.0
weight g8.7
stylus profilemicroline
cantilever materialdiamond
body materialA7075 duralumin, 24K gold-leaf
frequency response hz15/50000
channel separation db33.0
notes