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Assistance Identifying an Ikeda Cartridge

Trying to figure out which cartridge I got here, came to me on a Well Tempered Reference turntable.. 

Its an Ikeda with no cantilever, so one of the earlier generation cartridges I believe. It is that gold color that the 9TT is, however where the 9TT logo is there is just a kanji character. 

Vinyl engine has about 6 to choose from, but the pics are black and white and do not show the side of the cartridge where the logo is. 

Anyone got an idea which one this could be? Like I said looks exactly like a 9TT in color, but different logo and no cantilever. 

Thanks!
neonknight

Showing 4 responses by lewm

lewm
13,569 posts
 
Neon, it seems you have anxiety about repairing a cartridge that at the moment sounds “glorious”. Unless something has changed since you initiated this thread. If not, why not just relax and enjoy?

Factoid: two years ago while cartridge shopping in Tokyo I saw an Ikeda cartridge for sale that also had a kanji symbol on its side. I can’t say whether it’s the same symbol on your sample, but it’s evidence that the kanji doesn’t necessarily indicate a vintage model. However the cartridge was very expensive, so you can feel good about that.
lewm
13,569 posts
 
Ok. Do that.
lewm
13,569 posts
 
I sent a photo of the cartridge with the kanji label to my son who lives in Tokyo and is a scholar in Japanese.  Here is his response: "I think it says “Tsuji” which is just a family name. I can tell you it has no functional meaning in terms of what the cartridge can do. It’s also so roughly written (like a signature) that I’m not 100% sure that it it is the character for “Tsuji”'.
I hope that helps someone.
lewm
13,569 posts
 
If you go into any higher end audio salon in Tokyo you will find ikeda cartridges for sale off the shelf. They tend to be expensive even there. Among the many models there are several in the 9 series. Are you folks saying these modern post-ikeda-San products are inferior? Nandric is a big fan.
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