The Tech' Gallery

[DSJR]

I've been asked to post this pic of Ron E's Technics, which he's been working on for some considerable time. I'm sure he'll come in and tell all about it

[Tarzan]

Very nice, what is the tonearm?

[The Barbarian]

Looks like a Linn 'Ekos' with a counterbalance weight i don't recognise!

[Marco]

It's an Ekos with an Ortofon counterweight balance - interesting combo!

Look forward to Ron giving us all the 'gen' on what he's been up to

Marco.

[JazzBones]

I've been asked to post this pic of Ron E's Technics, which he's been working on for some considerable time. I'm sure he'll come in and tell all about it

Firstly. thanks to DSJR for posting this pic for me... its difficult to teach an old carthorse to hurdled fences at the National but I can do things like mental maths without the aid of a calculator .

Very observant of you Andre, it is indeed a Mk1 Ekos which J7/AO has worked on for me, Kondo silver wiring, slight internal damping etc. I bought the Isokenetic c/wt to use on my Jelco 750D but out of curiosity thought I would see if it could work with my Ekos. It did, much to my surprise, and I liked the result, plus I like to be different from the herd. There is a catch with the c/wt when used on a Linn arm and that it weighs in a 170g thus a lighter pickup cartridge needs balancing out at its end and secondly it needs some pillar height so as not to foul the arm collar. I'm okay because you can see my platter is tall. I prefer this arm combo to my Jelco, both were mounted on my Techy (not at the same time) but my AO/Ekos is my preference arm choice. Also, notice that the centre of gravity is now lower and the c/wt is closer to the pivot. Armboard is a Speedy Steve's Mpingo African hardwood, also have an ebony for my Jelco.

[British high fidelity]

Very nice 😉

[Marco]

Nice one, Ron. It's the exact same counterweight balance as is fitted to my Ortofon RS-212D tonearm. Both items are made by Jelco. Interesting that it fits your Ekos, which could suggest that it too was produced by the Jelco factory, despite being touted by Linn as a Glasgow-built product....

I'm sure your Techy sounds fab (and I like how you've modded it in your own way - respect). Would love to hear it sometime!

Marco.

[The Barbarian]

Nice one, Ron. It's the exact same counterweight balance as is fitted onto my Ortofon RS-212D tonearm. Both items are made by Jelco.

I thought it was at first but dismissed that, drawing a blank just thinking maybe it was a bespoke counterbalance weight.. like you i doubted it would fit the 'Ekos'.. very interesting..

Aye Ron i got out my way to be different anorl..

[DSJR]

I believe Jelco made all the Ittoks and I also think the very first Ittok-esque arm was a short-lived Jelco (designed by Ito-San?) that Linn may have bought the rights to. [edit] A VERY long time ago and this arm's roots may be partly buried as is the real LP12 direct ancestry

I also seem to remember Linn saying that the last Ittok LVIII's were the same as the first Ekos arms (colour aside). If this is true, then how come the all but doubling of the price from LVIII to Ekos? Many early Ekos arms suffered glued-up bearings too and Linn replaced these for a while, but charged a small fortune thereafter (I don't know if Ron's arm had iffy bearings, but glad it's been breathed on by someone who knows them intimately).

Back in the dark ages, we sold Ittoks to go on all sorts of decks from the Systemdek and Logic 101, but also the Luxman PD-300 (IIRC) and even a Thorens 160 and Axis... No reason at all why an Ekos shouldn't be used with a Techie if the arm-board is carefully selected.

[Marco]

The interesting thing though, Dave, is that doesn't it have 'Made in Scotland' written on the Ekos arm-base? I seem to remember that it does... If so, one would have to cast some doubt over that, as the last time I looked Japan wasn't in Scotland...

Marco.