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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 2 responses by dover

dover
2,182 posts
 
@neonknight 
I own an Ikeda Kiwami, purchased new in the 90's.

The correct tracking force for the Kiwami as per the manual ( which I have )  is 2.0 - 2.5g

Compliance is 6 x 10*-6 cm/dyne.

I have succesfully run it in a Naim Aro with effective mass 14g, but the best arm that I use it with is the heavier mass Fidelity Research FR64S.
 ( Mr Ikeda does not recommend unipivots for these cartridges. )

The Ikeda cartridges are very sensitive to antiskate because the hoop flexes in the lateral plane, so you need to pay careful attention, I set the antiskate by ear. You need an arm that you can set precisely the correct antiskate level for the individual cartridge.

I have set up an Ikeda 9EM on a Well Tempered many years ago, but that cartridge was much more forgiving than the Kiwami. I dont think the Well Tempered arm is stable enough for the Kiwami in my view.

dover
2,182 posts
 
@neonknight

Can we get a concensous of which version this is?

The one in this image is the cartridge I have.

Are we talking an original series 9 or the Kawami?

https://conchan1.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/mi-last.jpeg

The cartridge in the photo is the Ikeda Kiwami. As I said above I own one.

I have given you the information required

Recommended tracking - 2.0 - 2.5g
Compliance 6cm *100(-6)/dyne

As far as I can see I am the only participant in this thread that actually owns the cartridge you speak of. I purchased mine brand new - I have all the original paperwork and manual. I have actually had several of the Ikeda 9** ( 80’s cantileverless version ) and set them on many arms.
I have previously set up the Well Tempered combo ( with 2 cantileverless Ikeda's on it ) for a customer  and set up the Audiomods tonearm on my Platine Verdier that I sold off a couple of years ago. Neither of these arms is up to the job, even adding mass to the Audiomods wont do it, despite the Audiomods being a bit of a giant killer for the money. As I have already told you the Kiwami is much more difficult to set up than the other Ikedas mentioned in this thread, it is a brute of a cartridge.

If you want to chase down rabbit holes by taking advice from folk who dont even own the cartridge in question ( many of the statements on this thread are not only guesses, they are wrong ) - then I’m out.


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