Gromit's music centre...

[Gromit]

Thanks Justin.

Couple more...

LP12 by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

Light music by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

[Macca]

I was going to say they look like brochure pictures but they are better. Linn will want you soon

[Gromit]

Thanks Martin - might be time to negotiate a healthy discount.

[Gromit]

A bit of Ittok loveliness...

Linn Ittok LVII by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

Not the greatest photo (was taken on my phone) but the arm's rather photogenic. Not 100% sure the arm's a keeper though - this was never the plan to start with as it was a 'buy it, lose nothing when selling' purchase to get me going. Whilst on really good recordings it can sound stunning, on more ragged/heavily scored stuff it still displays that presence region 'sting' which makes cymbals (for example) sound splashy and coarse.

[southall-1998]

You find too revealing for your taste, Richard?

S.

[Gromit]

You find too revealing for your taste, Richard?

S.

Probably not revealing as such, but it definitely has a presence-region 'lift'. This gives vocals lots of inflection (good) and provides plenty of impact on drumkit and anything containing percussive instrumentation, but the downside is a very narrow colour palette. Particularly noticable on wind instruments - Clarinet and Saxophone especially. Strange though that on really big orchestral (Stravinsky/Shostakovich etc) it sounds great.

[Marco]

Hi Richard,

First of all, nice to see you checking in again, and as usual with such GORGEOUS photography! Hope you are well and enjoying life

Not 100% sure the arm's a keeper though - this was never the plan to start with as it was a 'buy it, lose nothing when selling' purchase to get me going. Whilst on really good recordings it can sound stunning, on more ragged/heavily scored stuff it still displays that presence region 'sting' which makes cymbals (for example) sound splashy and coarse.

That is 100% spot on. What you've described is the classic sonic signature of an Ittok! And why the Linn cartridges, designed to be used with it, were voiced accordingly so as not to exacerbate said "sting", indeed some would say that synergy was achieved. The classic combo is with a Karma, Troika or perhaps an Archiv.

I missed it, what cartridge are you currently using on the Ittok? Anything remotely not well-behaved in the mid/top-end, and you'll hear it. One cartridge that I suspect would be a great 'modern day match' with the Ittok, is a Denon DL-S1.

Marco.

[Gromit]

Thanks for the kind comments re the photos, Marco - being semi-retired now I get plenty of time to get immersed in the hobby.

I'm enjoying the LP12, since getting it I sincerely don't think I've listened to so much vinyl in a long time. Yes, I could've got something better for the money and I'll be the first to admit that the old girl puts something of her own stamp on music. What it has shown is that proper, thorough set-up is paramount. Peter at Cymbiosis went through every aspect of stripping and re-building the deck - at the end of which he just said 'see - it ain't rocket-science'. And was at pains to point out there's no black magic/laying of hands needed to make the deck work properly - just methodical attention to detail. No bullsh*t, no hard sell. Refreshing.

To get me started again I got a new Denon DL110 - a cartridge I know well, it doesn't do too much wrong (for the money) and is musically articulate enough to be a satisfying listen. Being a Denon it's also very kind to surface noise and tracks anything thrown at it.

[Gromit]

The whole lot...

System by Boxertrixter, on Flickr

[hermit]

Your LP12 looks simply stunning Richard. If only you knew how to take a decent piccy