Ittock/Ekos

... I did this upgrade, but pre-Cirkus on my LP12.

Unfortunately, I did this in 1988 just after it was introduced. Big difference - too long ago to describe it - all I can remember is that my girlfriend at the time said "Blimey!" and we both started grinning.

Same sort of night/day experience when I added the Lingo.

Hope that helps!

Both the arrow and ekos blow the ittok away. I went from an ittok to ekos then onto an arrow. To my ears the arrow has a more natural and musical approach with a more revealing mid band. The lift /lower thing is not really that bad either.

That said the ekos is a great arm. MkII ekos is a lot better than mkI's and much less prone to the bearing fault common in early examples.

The ekos is very much the logical step for my system now as I listen mostly to vinyl. Ultimately we are taliking a lot of £££'s but it is good hear that the differnce is a large one. The missus is struggling to get her head round the fact that I am willing to spend so much on a piece of metal tubing! It would be a bonus if she can tell the diffence as with some of my other upgrades. The Sbl's were a succes in this area but this was due as much to the WAF of the cherry finish!

I think your fine words have convinced me! You have described the very things I felt that I was sometimes missing out on. The ekos should pass the John Coltrane KOB test. I used to have a K9 myself (i now have an OC9) so I will probably be getting even more from my current cartridge. I would strongly recommend that you take the plunge with a High quality MC, £300+ always feels a lot to spend on something that ultimately wears out but it is worth it.

Another thing I've got to start saving for then.

Alex

Jeremy is spot on. The Ekos is very good indeed.

Try reducing this bias setting to about half of the tracking weight - I prefer this with my cartridge.

Chris

I did a change from an Ittock LV III MKII to an ARO and then quickly to an Ekos. In the context of my then current rig (Lp12, Dynavector 17d2Mk2, and a bunch of naim gear; TT on Mana wall shelf), I came away liking the Ekos better than the ARO, principally because I thought the ARO was just too thin and clinical in comparison.

That said, to my ears, the Ekos' strength was in the incredible force it packed at the low end, but ultimately suffered for want of a more acceptable top end--which is to say that although I thought the Ekos had many strengths, I was disturbed by it's lack of a balanced presentation. Music judt didn't seem to flow as well through the Ekos as I rememered it.

In the end, I come to the inescapable conclusion that I liked the Ittock LV III better than the Ekos; selling it was one of the worst mistakes I've made.

Now, before everybody jumps, remember, the Ittock III is not the same beast as the Ittock II, and to my ears, it is a huge improvement (I've owned both the II and the III). Nor was it inexpensive when it came out. It existed shortly before the first Ekos was released, and had to have been close to $1700 US. I think some have suggested before that the later Ittocks were better than the early Ekos. A fact further suggested by Linn's very early return to the drawing board for the Ekos II.

If it were my money, I'd save half of it and find an Ittock LV III (a rare beast, actually) and spend the rest on something else. I just don't think the Ekos II is better on balance.

Judd

Does the ekos come with a new arm lead?

Woodface, my move from ittok to ekos was also about 10 years ago but I still remember it as one of the biggest moves I've made.

But what I really want to say is whats all this about discussing the pricing of this gear with the Missus? It will only make both of you very unhappy. Before anybody leaps in may I say that precisely the same would apply if a Missus was the obsessed one. The point is that these obsessions should be tolerated in partnerships on the basis of a minimum exchange of information. That way nothing gets in the way of enjoying the music.

Good point but I have a more cunning strategy! I actually tell my wife it costs more then she is presently surprised when I tell her what a great deal I got. I think she now subconciously adds £500 to each figure I tell her - she now thinks an ekos costs £2k! Are you 'the' David O' Higgins by the way?

The +£500 trick may work at the level of a £2K expenditure, but it's much trickier when you get to , say, a CDS 2, and to make matters worse, I have to add 25% to all the nominal values to allow for the strength of Sterling, so for a pair of NBLs (passive), for instance, I have to talk about £9000 !

I'm the only David O'Higgins that I know, but maybe you know another?

Hi David, I was enquiring as to whether you were a musician as your name rings a bell.

Ah. No I'm not he. Musicians don't seem to be much into hi-fi. They leave that to accountants like me !