Cartridges

Posted by: count.d on 21 December 2001

I have a LP12/Ekos/Asaka.
Will be getting an Armageddon.
If I were to upgrade the cartridge, is there a big difference between Asaka and Arkiv?

Arkiv is about £1,200.
Is it worth upgrading to this or are there better value for money cartridges?

Posted on: 21 December 2001 by Simon Matthews
The asaka must be at least 8 years old (approx???). If so it will be pretty lifeless. Even if not fully worn ( and it should be!) then the cantilever and rubber suspension parts will have degraded over time.

The arkiv is a different beast in all departments, especially the arkiv2 with the boron cantilever. I like it a lot but IMO there are alternatives to audition.

The dynavector range is well worth a listen. The d17mk2 is a real bargain at approx 500 pounds uk. The xx2 at a grand is supposed to be the business although I have yet to hear it.

If you intend to spend this sort of money I would make sure you have the very best arm, power supply, support to make sure you make the most of it. Enjoy

Posted on: 21 December 2001 by Frank Abela
The simple answer to your question is that the Arkiv will provide a big step up from the Asaka. Now I'm no fan of Linn cartridges but I know them and the Arkiv is significantly better than the Asaka. Luckily, you have an Ekos and this is absolutely essential for the correct functioning of the Arkiv. My experience with the Arkiv in an ARO was horrendous - it came out bright and nasty. However, its treble is much more controlled and focussed in an Ekos - no comparison. There's some kind of basic mismatch between the ARO and Arkiv methinks.

I haven't tried other modern cartridges in the Ekos. In an ARO I've tried many such as Ortofon KontrapunktB (£750), Dynavector 17D2 (£450), XX2 (£1000) and Te Kaitora (my favourite but £1700). However, I can't attest to their effectiveness in the Ekos since I haven't tried them. In an ARO I would take any of the above (even the 17D2) over the Arkiv due to that mismatch.

In the Ekos, the Arkiv works very well (as you'd expect), and I can recommend it as an upgrade from the Asaka.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

Posted on: 22 December 2001 by Dev B
Hi Frank,

quote:
My experience with the Arkiv in an ARO was horrendous - it came out bright and nasty.

I think there must be something wrong with the set-up to get these results, I would say the Aro/Arkiv2 is a pretty good match, and certainly isn't bright. The only thing I can suggest is that with the Aro the essential thing to ensure is that that the Arm pillar and three cartridge bolts are not done tight at all.

Happy x-mas

Dev

Posted on: 27 December 2001 by rohit
.