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
I think your sample with the Japanese character was called Rex Kiwami. The fact that it doesn’t show up on the Japanese catalogue chakster provided might suggest the Kiwami was the export version of the Rex and not the other way around.

Apart from the integrated headshell types, all 9 models look identical except for the colour of the body. But as the catalogue indicates, there were large price differences, with the 9C variations being much cheaper than the others. The specs are all in the same ballpark, but recommended VTF differs greatly between models. The Rex has the lowest VTF, which suggests a differently tuned suspension and/or compliance (if that makes any sense at all with a cartridge without cantilever).

The current Ikeda 9 series still looks pretty much the same, but these are very different cartridges. Although Ikeda San was still alive when they first appeared on the market, there are doubts if he was involved in the design (he was well into his 80’s by then). By most accounts the new models don’t compare favorably to the ’old’ ones, to put it mildly.

One more case in point to illustrate that new isn’t always better, in contrast to what manufacturers and reviewers keep telling us.....

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.
@neonknight the kanji can mean a couple things like “extreme” or “top”.