Ikeda Akiko - The sound of diamonds.

Four years have gone since I became acquainted with the fantastic Ikeda cartridges. Back then i had as many as four different ones for review, plus their step-up transformer IST-201. After the review, I bought the top cartridge 9Gss silver. A lot of money and I had to thin out my stock of high-end cartridges to pay for that investment. Later I also invested in the IST-201 step up transformer, so now the two form a perfect partnership.

Fast forward to 2022. Now I'm sitting here with Ikeda's successor; the new 10 year anniversary cartridge  – Akiko (silver version). A far more popular name than 9Gss. Akiko (あきこ, アキコ) is a Japanese first name for a girl/woman. But beyond that it has several meanings. It can be "sparkle", "bright" and "superior". In all cases the suffix "ko" refers to "little", "child" or "girl". If I have to interpret in the Japanese language, then it must be something like "smart, shiny and superior little girl". However, there is a perfectly logical explanation for the name Akiko. Her full name is Akiko Ishiyama, and she is the daughter of the CEO Katsuaki Ishiyami. It is expected that she in the future will be her fathers successor as the new CEO.  

Since last time

Fidelity Research closed several years ago. In 2012, Ikeda then started up, but with the same developer and products that were clearly marked by the kinship. Eg. the FR 201 cartridge and the FR 64/66 arms. More recently, Ikeda had the top cartridge Kai, which in 2018 was replaced by the 9Gss. There are also a host of other cartridges in the program, as well as the well-known arms and the SUT.

After four years of development, there is the new Akiko. It immediately looks like its predecessor., the 9Gss, but now the housing is in titanium and the gilding has a slight reddish tinge. The biggest change is that the cantilever in Akiko is precision-machined diamond. The stylus type has also been changed to a microridge. Ikeda also mentions improvements in the coil system, but does not reveal more. Certainly coils wound on air as they have done previously. There are two Akiko models, respectively copper or silver in the coil system. The powerful neodymium magnets ensures a solid output that fits all MC inputs and of course also their own IST-201 SUT.

The picture on the left shows the Akiko at the top and my "old" Ikeda 9Gss at the bottom.. Both play excellently, but "unfortunately" I can easily hear the difference and improovements in the Akiko..

Specifications - Akiko silver: (Specs for the "old" 9Gss in parentheses where the deviate)

Output voltage: 0.35 mV v. 3.55 cm sec. (slightly higher than 9Gss with 0.30 mV)
Internal impedance: 3.0 ohms v. 1 kHz
Needle pressure: 1.75 – 2.0 grams (recommended around 1.8 grams) – again slightly lower than before
Frequency range: 10 Hz – 45 kHz
Channel separation: More than 30 dB 1 kHz
Channel balance: within 0.5 dB (1 dB for 9Gss)
Needle sharpening: Microridge (fineline on 9Gss)
Cantilever: Diamond (Boron on 9Gss)
Weight: 15 grams (14 grams for 9Gss)
Compliance 10 x 10-6 cm/dyn

As can be seen, there have been quite a few changes compared to the previous 9Gss.

Akiko with the family

Akiko is delivered in a sensible wooden case, which can be used for your collection, as it is equipped with 3 holders for cartridges mounted in headshells. The box is labeled "The 10th Anniversary AKIKO Cartridge". See the picture in the upper right corner. Normally there is only one cartridge in the box, as well as documentaton. In this pickture the Akiko has been joined by some family members. On the left 9Gss - in the middle Akiko and on the right the good old Fiderlity Research FR-201...

That's how I did it

Ikeda Akiko was used with Ikeda's own SUT – IST201. With a ratio of 1:20, it naturally provides an appropriate load and gain. The cartridge was primarily used in a mi Glanz MH-124S ​​12" arm, but briefly it was also mounted in a Dynavector DV-507i arm. Both arms mounted on my Platine Verdier recordplayer The RIAA was my Accuphase C27. Arm cable a Dyholm X-series and from SUT to RIAA a Tellurium Q Black Diamond. The VTA was adjusted in with my Feickert protractor. Note that Akiko is a "low rider". It can be a little difficult to get under it and see where the stylus is.

Diamonds and details

So what does the AKIKO sound like? Well, that´s both difficult and very easy to answer. While these lines are being written, Paul Simon's "in the Blue Light" is playing in the background. Actually in another room. I have played this record many times, but even here I can clearly hear the difference. An immediacy and a matter of self-evidence, so that you are involuntarily drawn into the music. The reproduction almost "breathes" of excess and detail without it being in any way stuck out and becoming sterile or too much. In short, it is very impressive and involving. Even compared to my Ikeda 9Gss, there is just a bit more of everything. The soundstage opens up and the sound is even more vivid and effortless - air and resolution.

Akiko has a knack for placing instruments in the right space. Both good and bad, because with multi-channel recordings you can clearly hear the separate room each individual instrument has been recorded. A total sound of a large orchestra in a concert hall, but the solo violin suddenly has its own acoustics. However, it should not be blamed on the cartridge. With good old recordings you´l get the total experience - yes, an absolutely coherent and open experience with a view into the music.

Another phenomenon is the micro details in the upper register. Transients and dynamic sounds from piano, guitar or percussion stand out - starts and stops, so you just blink once and say "whoa, what just happened there" It's all so playfully light and dynamic that you just have to surrender. Akiko is a cartridge that manages all types of music and just makes you find all the good and less good records from your collection.

Music

I have already mentioned Paul Simon / In the Blue. Here, however, I want to focus on the dynamics and the violent piano touches. They come as if fired out of a cannon. Pressure and dynamics. The record actually seems far more dynamic and BIGGER than I've heard it before. More is happening and everything is under control. Those who claim that modern recordings are dynamically compressed should just experience this. Here there is a physical transmission of the music, so that you are drawn into the experience.-  I have the  same record ind 24 bit/192 khz , but this i s not even close to the analogue experiende.

Lorde / Melodrama. I have played this record for a lot of my firends. They don¨t understand thsi kind of music. I Me ond the other hand is touched by her voice and the very afrssive and dynamic music. Her voice is naked, clos miking, which makes her voice stand out with a lot of details in the front of the sound image. 

Here again it is the dynamics that impress, but with a voice that, despite close miking, stands out very distinctly in the soundscape. That's how the hairs on the neck stand up. Lorde stands physically and tangibly between the speakers. I just randomly had to try the same thing streamed via Qobuz. My digital chain is certainly not bad, but not in the same caliber as the analog one. This is heard very clearly. Flatter sound image, where things almost get a little messy and don't stand distinctly in their right place. There is not the same empathy as from the LP. Is it the media itself or my Innuos streamer and Denafrip's Terminator II DAC? Well, I've tried it before, but not with as much of a difference as here. Many say "It is a digital recording after all". Yes it is. The record has been through a long process, but despite that, all the qualities we value come through much more clearly from the black vinyl. Especielly  here with Ikeda Akiko.

 

Snorri Kirk Quartet//Tangerine Rhapsody. Excellent new  jazz with tenor saxophone in the foreground, accompanied by piano and percussion.. This record has been played several times since I bought it this summer.

Here, Stephen Riley plays tenor saxophone with lots of detail, so that all wind sounds and nuances are right in front of you in 3D. Never too much, but with a degree of detail that takes you into the music experience. Still soft and comfortable, but at the same time something so delicious and revealing. Akiko just manages to get a few extra details, wider sound stage and with many more small but important details. You relax and enjoy the experience as one big wall of sound with every instrumnt placed at the right spot there in front of you. You forget about hifi, electronics and cables and just disappear into total enjoyment. Yes this is newer jazz, but in this case very delicious and involving.

Inger Marie Gundersen / The Best of. This Japanese pressing is not cheap, but for sure this is excellent. No noise and a super recording- But at the same time the voice and music is presented in this special laid-back way we know from her. Always on my Mind is the first track on side 2. Light percussion and then straight out of nowhere comes her soft but big voice. The piano comes in, supplemented by whiskers and cymbals. Lots of air and the very special Akiko sound - liberated and with details that seem real and present. Absolutely a classy record, singer and not least the recording. 

  

Jethro Tull / Songs from the woods. A good cartridge should also be able to play the "old" music. There have been Steely Dan, Toto and Fleetwood Mach on the plate. Everything is of course handled excellently and in fact with very little groove noise from the otherwise often listened to records. Here Jethro Tull, which has been played several times. I know this record, or should many say "I thought I knew it". The soundstage is even more open and voices/choirs stand in a physical way behind the speakers, which I didn't think was in this old recording. Ian Anderson stands in front of you on one leg, handling his flute as only he can. Definitely a pleasure to experince. .

Rodrigo / Conserto de Aranjues, Academy of St, Martin in the Fields. Neville Marriner (Philips 1978), Power, Dynamics and Weight. Something definitely happens when a full orchestra show their full energy. Here it is almost embarrassing, because this old analog recording nicely shows the difference between a lone acoustic guitar and then a multitude of strings. At no time does it feel pressured or "too much". No tendencies towards harshness or that the sound picktur flickes and become diffuse. All through the record a total resolution The space is nicely defined and at no time the control is lost. Very poignant and engaging, you get sucked into the music. An excellent rendering of a super trasnparernt old recording.

Here a picture taken with my USB microscope. It is clearly seen that the Akiko cantilever is made of diamond. Slightly transparent and absolutely elegantly processed.	Tthe corresponding image of the Ikeda 9Gss with the boron cantilever, which immediately appears longer and thinner. Note - not the same magnification.

Conclusion

For the vast majority, this cartridge is completely unattainable and the price can seem almost crazy. For what an Akiko costs, you can get a complete system with record player, amplifier and a set of good speakers. But... Because there is a but. As someone on FaceBook wrote: "An Ikeda cartridge makes you addicted and opens you up to audiophile Nirvana. In comparison a Denon DL103 only achieves 10-15%”. I should not be able to say whether the Denon or other cartridges achieve a certain percentage in terms of sound quality. However, it is completely settled - Ikeda Akiko is from another world and this is revealed from the moment the stylus hits the groove. It just has to be experienced. Something completely different is, that it requires a lot to do this. Your arm, turntable, RIAA and the rest are necessary expensive parts in your chain must be up to the task. This is real high-end.hifi.

My 9Gss is still an excellent cartridge - actually one of the best I've experienced. As mentioned, the problem is that I CAN hear the difference. A curse or a blessing? Akiko is better in several ways. It is also a little different, but still a super harmonic and revealing cartridge. At no point does it become overly analytical, yet it pulls out the information and details like I've never heard it before with any cartridge.  Most of the time it feels like pure magic.

With Ikeda Akiko, we are talking about a considerable investment, which very few would afford. Unfortunately, less will get the experience., but they just need to know that there is something completely different "out there". A way to track the black discs, which has to be envied by many.

 

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