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Worth rebuilding Linn troika or fix shelter 501II?

Yesterday I managed to break the cantilever of a lightly used shelter 501 II which I bought about 6 years ago new. I used it with an early 80's vintage linn Sondek lp12 with Ittok LVII tone arm. Since I had an old troika I decided to mount it and my ayre phono pre had no trouble with the cartridge's low output. The troika needs work; the shelter needs repair. Which would you do? I think the troika is a better cartridge to my ears but it's more than 30 years old. Can you recommend someone to rebuild/retip the troika? I plan to contact sound smith to see if they would repair the shelter.
jc4659
3 responses Add your response
sondek12
5 posts
 
Troika is the obvious choice. Expert Stylus did a full rebuild on my Linn Arkiv and it came back sounding better than new. Many on the Linn Forum swear by them for their Troikas, and they were even written up in Stereophile as doing excellent work. He usually has quite a waiting list, but there's a reason for that...

http://www.78tours.com/Expert_Stylus_Company.htm
chayro
2,925 posts
 
Linn really seems to work best with its own, so I would recommend fixing the Troika if you can. Maybe you can swing a good trade in to one of the newer Linn carts if they can't rebuild it for you. You can also ask Soundsmith if they can work on it, which will probably be a lot less expensive than new. They have an excellent reputation.
theo's avatar
theo
2,659 posts
 
I owned a Troika for a few years and it was a perfect companion to my LP12. If it were me I would look into getting the Troika rebuilt. Check with your local Linn dealer to see who Linn recommends for gas process. Or if you don't have a Linn dealer close by, contact Rick at audioalternative.com, he is an LP12 expert and can probably either arrange or direct you to the best source for repair. When I sold my Troika I moved over to the Lyra Kleos and eventually sold my LP12, as the evolution of audio gear sometimes dictates.
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