Help with selecting Replacement Cartridge


Here's my situation: I have a current-version Linn LP12/Lingo with a Linn Ekos II tonearm. The first cartridge I had on the LP12 was a Benz Glider Series 2, which I liked a lot and which seemed to suit the LP12 reasonably well. I decided I wanted more detail and refinement, so my dealer suggested I get the new Linn reference cartridge, the Akiva (replaced the Arkiv in Linn's line).

That turned out to be the worst decision I've made so far. To make a long and very frustrating story short, the Akiva is an extremely poor tracker. It sounds wonderful if I only play absolutely perfect 180+ gram LPs; unfortunately my record collection is made up of many LPs ranging from fair-condition '50s and '60s LPs, '70s Dynawarp, and '80s to modern mass-market pressing. Compared to the bulk of the collection, the number of perfect audiophile LPs are few and far between. The Akiva shows signs of mistracking on a sizeable majority of my records, and the Benz Glider played them all without complaint. It seems ludicrous to me that a $3000 list price cartridge from the manufacturer of my turntable would be so fussy that it won't play decent-condition mass-market records without mistracking, but that's the situation.

So I'm looking for a replacement. I really liked the Glider so I've been considering the Ruby 2, which is in the same price range as the Akiva. I've been told that some people like the Ruby with the LP12/Ekos, but others have said the Ruby is slightly too heavy for the Ekos. I don't know. I've also been steered toward the Clearaudio Discovery, but I've heard from one person that it's pretty cold and analytical. I thought the Akiva was a bit on the analytical side - I wouldn't want to go farther down the analytical path. Other ideas for cartridges that are in the same league and can match with the Ekos would be great!

I've been fooling with the Akiva (the original and two replacements) for way too long now, and I need to stop wasting my time and damaging my records. Your thoughts/experiences/suggestions would be most appreciated.
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Showing 1 response by phild

You'd have to ask a Linn person about the weight, but I use a Ruby 2 with my LP12 and Ekos and I think it sounds great. I do have issues with my anti-skate, but I think my problem is that the Ekos' adjustment knob is not calibrated correctly on my unit. I don't have any tracking problems at all. I upgraded from the Benz Glider and it was a noticable improvement. More details and information, but still as musical. If you liked the Glider you will like the Ruby.

I've also read a gillion great things about Shelter cartridges, but I'm not sure if they make a good match for our combo.