Help on Linn Ittok Tonearms

There were reports of sourcing problems some eight years ago or maybe more. I went from LV II to the Ekos recently, with silver. Bearing problems are violent, not subtle. Nor are they intermittent. It took me a paced number of years to get everything else right enough to justify moving to the Ekos. So I expect you to have solid success.

Good, knowledgeable advice from Lugnut.

I am in the process of buying an Ittok LV II (indeed, likely with a silver tonearm cable). My own philosophy when it comes to fragile analog equipment like tonearms, especially one that is going to be a number of years old, is to buy from a dealer who can varify all is working well before you make the purchase. Dealers sometimes list these here on Audiogon, but another option is find any dealer selling Linn gear and ask them to find an Ittok for you. Since this is a common arm people upgrade from when going to an Ekos, they are not hard for them to find. The price has gone up on these recently, and I think $500 - $600 is about what you should expect to pay. If you want an Ittok III, which is a substantially better arm (the "baby ekos"), expect to look a lot harder and pay considerably more.

Another option to buying from a dealer is to buy using escrow, and then have a dealer or some knowledgeable friend check it out during the two day inspection period escrow gives you.

Oh, by the way, if getting an LV II, you want a later model, not the one with the split counter weight. The later models are better, though all are an excellent value.

If the arm has not been abused there will be no trouble. The most desireable is the black LVIII. The LVII which I have is a stellar preformer at its used price point which is generally lower than what I'm seeing them sell for at this time. What bearing issues do you speak about? I've not heard of any complaints in this regard. It's my understanding that the arm tube on the later models of LVIII are glued at the headshell and the other end, whatever that's called. Also, if you find one with a newer Linn silver tonearm cable that is a big upgrade. Contact me if you want a set up manual via PDF file. I also have archived some other valuable information that I can send as a word document. Finally, there is all kinds of information about Linn tables online through a google search. Since the Ittok was a Linn product it is covered extensively as well. If you buy one to mount on another table and it doesn't come with a mounting template I can have mine copied for you on heavy weight paper and send it to you for the cost of the copy and postage. I'd also copy the original owners manual for you and include that as well. I hate it when folks sell these things when we should just be sharing them.