New Cartridge

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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CD's track better !!!
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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What cart is that ? I have never had a bad tracking mc cart...in fact I think carts take too much of the blame for tracking issues. Precise cart setup and tonearm choice are more important, IMO.

Christian, I don't know of any cartridge that does that. However, my original point referred to Myles's comment on the fact that the Ikeda in question tracks like a Ferrari. So, wouldn't one expect any good/great sounding cartridge to track particularly well as part of the package? In this day and age any high quality/priced cartridge should have this down pat, at least IMHO.
 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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Myles, question.... If we're tracking above the norm, isn't all tracking below that mistracking? Just asking:D

I'm out of here because this is just argument for the sake of argument.

And thanks Davey for hijacking the thread. Start your own thread then next time.
 

Bill Demars

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Apr 28, 2010
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I've had a few high-end cartridges that while very good sounding, exhibited less than ideal tracking characteristics. The Miyajima Shilabe, while sounding good, has trouble tracking low bass, while the Strain Gauge was less than great when tracking heavily modulated piano. Some carts have a command and ease during difficult passages while others might make you sit on the edge of your seat. The 9TT has that reassuring command in the grooves, and it sounds great too. Too bad we got off the path here-bad tracking ability in this thread.:)
 

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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Too bad we got off the path here-bad tracking ability in this thread.:)

All Myles did was comment on how well the 9TT tracks and the thread came off the rails! Let's get back to how this cartridge sounds.
 

Bill Hart

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May 11, 2012
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Are these an outgrowth of the old Fidelity Research stuff? You see that the original stuff is highly regarded in some circles (although an antique cartridge could be downright scary). BTW, a lot of Ferraris don't 'track' that well. Gimme a Porsche with some work done on it. A good driver. And the 'Ring.( a famous track in Germany). :)
 

MylesBAstor

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MylesBAstor

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Are these an outgrowth of the old Fidelity Research stuff? You see that the original stuff is highly regarded in some circles (although an antique cartridge could be downright scary). BTW, a lot of Ferraris don't 'track' that well. Gimme a Porsche with some work done on it. A good driver. And the 'Ring.( a famous track in Germany). :)

I don't know about an outgrowth but yes, it's the same designer. Bill can correct me but I think these new models are more a continuation of the earlier Complement line (carried by Rowland in those day) save it has a cantilever (at least one that you can see) and square, not round sides to the body.

But yes, it has the same qualities I remember (and that has to be what 15+ years ago) in the Complement. The 9TT is a speed freak along with great low level resolution (try the second side, about 3/4 inch from the end of the ATR pressing of La Folia on for size) and bass.
 

Bill Demars

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I don't know about an outgrowth but yes, it's the same designer. Bill can correct me but I think these new models are more a continuation of the earlier Complement line (carried by Rowland in those day) save it has a cantilever (at least one that you can see) and square, not round sides to the body.

But yes, it has the same qualities I remember (and that has to be what 15+ years ago) in the Complement. The 9TT is a speed freak along with great low level resolution (try the second side, about 3/4 inch from the end of the ATR pressing of La Folia on for size) and bass.

While the 9TT is visually similar to the Rowland Compliment, it is not necessarily a continuation of it. Ikeda exported a few cartridges like the 9REX "Kiwame" in small lots, but these were discontinued quite some time ago as they were not as good as the original 9REX which had an integrated headshell. I believe the Compliment has a similar story.
The new 9TT does have a cantilever. The catilever-less carts are very difficult to dial in and are very fussy with regards to surface dust and misaligment of geometry and anti-skate. Mr. Ikeda and team came up with a cartridge that has the Ikeda magic while being much more forgiving with regards to setup and surface dust.
They still make upon special order the 9MUSA which is a legendary cartridge without a cantilever.
 

puroagave

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Sep 29, 2011
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While the 9TT is visually similar to the Rowland Compliment, it is not necessarily a continuation of it. Ikeda exported a few cartridges like the 9REX "Kiwame" in small lots, but these were discontinued quite some time ago as they were not as good as the original 9REX which had an integrated headshell. I believe the Compliment has a similar story.
The new 9TT does have a cantilever. The catilever-less carts are very difficult to dial in and are very fussy with regards to surface dust and misaligment of geometry and anti-skate. Mr. Ikeda and team came up with a cartridge that has the Ikeda magic while being much more forgiving with regards to setup and surface dust.
They still make upon special order the 9MUSA which is a legendary cartridge without a cantilever.

ive got a rowland compliment (cantilever less) it hasnt seen service in years and no its not for sale:p I do know it likes an arm with high mass (>14 gms). At the time, Ikeda-san also recommended arms with captive bearings (no unipivots?). is the 9TT any different? his current arms possess both atributes.
 

Bill Demars

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Apr 28, 2010
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ive got a rowland compliment (cantilever less) it hasnt seen service in years and no its not for sale:p I do know it likes an arm with high mass (>14 gms). At the time, Ikeda-san also recommended arms with captive bearings (no unipivots?). is the 9TT any different? his current arms possess both atributes.

The Ikeda IT-407CR1 is >30 grams effective mass so it really sings with a low compliance cartridge. The 407 uses stainless steel bearings on both sides of the tonearm shaft instead of on one side with the FR arms. The 9TT's compliance is aroung 7, so it should sound it's best with a heavy arm like the 407, but it sure sounded good on Myles' VPI arm.
 

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