Dear Nandric,
I meant ’different versions’ of the 9 series, assuming Mr. Ikeda administered equal treatment to ’each member’ of his family.
But I have always wondered why there’s such a wide range of recommended VTF within this ’family’ (ranging from 1,5 to 2,5 grams) when they supposedly all share the same construction.
When I inspect the Rex up close it looks like the stylus is glued to a brace or bridge (for want of a better term) around which the coils seem to be wound. There’s no visible suspension (but that may be hidden from sight) and obviously no cantilever, so I don’t understand where any compliance could be derived from. Sorry for my hopeless description.
The available information on the 9 series is very limited and I do not know which was the last and/or best, although I do remember reading somewhere that the 9 Musa (the one with the integrated wooden headshell) was indeed the final version before Ikeda the man retired and Ikeda the company returned to more conventional cartridges. I don’t know if Ikeda the man was still responsible for the design of the current 9 series, or if these belong to someone else’s ’family’ with the same name.....
I’m sure you will have noticed by now that I do not know any more than you do. So I share your hope that other ’members’ of this forum can shed some more light on the ’family history’ of these carts and on their sonic ’pecking order’.
I meant ’different versions’ of the 9 series, assuming Mr. Ikeda administered equal treatment to ’each member’ of his family.
But I have always wondered why there’s such a wide range of recommended VTF within this ’family’ (ranging from 1,5 to 2,5 grams) when they supposedly all share the same construction.
When I inspect the Rex up close it looks like the stylus is glued to a brace or bridge (for want of a better term) around which the coils seem to be wound. There’s no visible suspension (but that may be hidden from sight) and obviously no cantilever, so I don’t understand where any compliance could be derived from. Sorry for my hopeless description.
The available information on the 9 series is very limited and I do not know which was the last and/or best, although I do remember reading somewhere that the 9 Musa (the one with the integrated wooden headshell) was indeed the final version before Ikeda the man retired and Ikeda the company returned to more conventional cartridges. I don’t know if Ikeda the man was still responsible for the design of the current 9 series, or if these belong to someone else’s ’family’ with the same name.....
I’m sure you will have noticed by now that I do not know any more than you do. So I share your hope that other ’members’ of this forum can shed some more light on the ’family history’ of these carts and on their sonic ’pecking order’.