Ikeda 9 Cartridge Squeaking


This is an odd issue I have never been able to figure out the last few months. I have an Ikeda 9 Kawami cartridge on a Well Tempered Reference table, with the longer WTR arm. There are a few albums by Mark Isham on Windham Hill label that this cartridge has a high pitched squeak or rubbing sound in the groove. I can hear it and it drives me nuts! Yet on other albums such as George Winston on the same label there is none of this nonsense. 

Overhang is set by an arc protractor with spindle to pivot being 233 degrees. I have not found a factory listed number for this arm, but an owner of a Wally Tractor had one done for his table and reported the 233 mm number. I used an original Feikert and measured 230 mm from the first setting that the previous owner had it at when I obtained this table.  I cannot find a factory protractor for this table, and all the info from Stanalog or Transparent seems to be missing. I am tempted to pull the cartridge off this arm and put it on my Audiomods Series Six with a heavy cartridge plate and see what happens there. But I would prefer to keep the cartridge on this table, but for the life of me I am not sure what the issue is. 

There is nothing on the net regarding this phenomenon that I have found. Anyone experience this, or hear about it? Since the cartridge is similar to a London Decca design, perhaps an owner of those cartridges may have heard something?
neonknight

Showing 4 responses by chakster

I think the problem is your light mass tonearm (with golf ball suspended in silicone fluid for damping) that you’re using with low compliance cartridge. Even if the arm is longer than this WTR (10g) i think the mass is still not enough for Ikeda cartridge that require about 35g mass for optimal performance. Try Ikeda on heavy tonearm to make sure. 
@elliott

I am astounded by the counter intuitive relationship of ’delicate sounding MC world’ needing heavy tracking force of 2-2.5g.

What shape is the tip of this stylus?

"Special Oval" for Ikeda REX and latest Ikeda Supremo

Supremo tracking force is 1.5 to 1.75g
REX recommended tracking force is 1.5g

My Ikeda 9c III has Special Elliptical diamond and tracking force is 2g. 
meanwhile, if Audio Technica, or Grado called an elliptical 'special ellipse', hmmmm

Joseph Grado made his best with so called Twin Tip.

Ikeda made his LOMC for Fidelity-Research with Refined Contact type tip. 

Special Elliptical is probably Hyper Elliptical.

But what is Special Oval ? :)) 

I'm lost in translation (from Japanese).