Non Linn cartridge for use with Linto

[Chris]

A mate of mine has just bought a pre-Cirkus LP12 and has fitted it with an AudioOrigami modded Rega RB251. Suddenly out of the blue he was offered a Linto at a very good price and has bought it as an investment for the future - he cannot use it at present bexcause his cartridge is a high output AT 312 (?). A logical partner for the Linto would be a Linn cartridge but maybe for use in the Rega something else might be a better idea. Suggestions please ?

The rest of his system is a Sugden A21a and Amphion stand mounts.

[DSJR]

The first thing to do is to set up the turntable properly, as many/most LP12's on the used market are in a dreadful state of tune, according to an equally experienced friend who sees these all the time. The LP12 has legendary status, but if not done right sounds little better than a vastly cheaper Thorens TD160 - in fact, the bass end may be worse!

I'm personally deeply suspicious of those firms who claim to "radically improve" the Rega tonearms. Why not design their own from scratch (apologies ;)) instead of butchering someone elses ideas?

Moan over, but the OL1 should be able to take most mid price moving coils, and so should the Linto, as it doesn't have fancy eq or loading incorporated..

[theophile]

Chris,
Virtually all Linn cartridges are manufactured by someone other then Linn.Try to find out who made the Linn cartridge you consider to be most suitable for the arm,and see what other cartridges within that same manufacturer's line-up would be suitable.

It's worth a try.

[DSJR]

The older Linn cartridges up to troika were made by Supex, I think from memory. The Arkiv and onwards were Scan-Tech (Lyra) based designs. The awful Klyde was a Goldring based abomination and had the worst of both manufacturers' moving coil thinking (dull, ballistic bass, marginal tracking and uninvolving to listen to, let alone "through"). Linns magnetics were AT based (K5/K9/K18/Basik 2) and later, Goldring I believe.

So, the Linto should offer a consistent loading to most of the prime contenders out there not needing specialist loading I reckon. It wasn't a bad phono stage at all as I remember, although modern cheaper alternatives may well be available these days.

[theophile]

The older Linn cartridges up to troika were made by Supex, I think from memory. The Arkiv and onwards were Scan-Tech (Lyra) based designs. The awful Klyde was a Goldring based abomination and had the worst of both manufacturers' moving coil thinking (dull, ballistic bass, marginal tracking and uninvolving to listen to, let alone "through"). Linns magnetics were AT based (K5/K9/K18/Basik 2) and later, Goldring I believe.

So, the Linto should offer a consistent loading to most of the prime contenders out there not needing specialist loading I reckon. It wasn't a bad phono stage at all as I remember, although modern cheaper alternatives may well be available these days.


That all concurs with my recollections of the OEMs.

I thought that it made sense to see what they are offering in their contemporary catalogues.There'd have to be some family DNA circulating.

[chris@panteg]

The DV's are supposed to work well with the Linto ' or am i barking up the wrong tree.

Mark ' may be more familiar with it than i though

[YNWaN]

It's all as Dave (DSJR) has previously stated. The Dynavectors will work fine with the Linto - anyway, cartridge loading won't be the issue holding back the system, irrespective of what cartridge is chosen.

To be honest, I would look to adding some updates to the LP12. I know that there are some very vocal fans of the pre-cirkus LP12 but as far as I am concerned such levels of colouration cannot serve the musical message.

[DSJR]

To be honest, I would look to adding some updates to the LP12. I know that there are some very vocal fans of the pre-cirkus LP12 but as far as I am concerned such levels of colouration cannot serve the musical message.

Oh ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

Linn of all people have reference masters to compare the vinyl end result to and the squidgy mess that often emanates from a pre-Cirkus LP12 is NOT anything like the master recording, the Cirkus coming FAR closer - and that's before we've come up-to-date...

[chris@panteg]

The Cirkus really tighten's things up on the LP12 , i remember getting mine done back in 96 ' though it did make the sound much more Hifi 'ish .

Looking at the current LP12 upgrades , the Cirkus kit is probably best bang for buck.