Akiva vs. Lyre Helicon or Titan

Could be a number of things. Could be impedance loading, could be VTA adjustment, VTF adjustment, could be variation of recordings.

I'd try some alternative settings on your present cartridge, before resorting to another purchase.

What is your VTA setting? The Akiva does prefer the headshell to be parallel to the record surface. What is your VTF setting? Linn recommends 1.75 grams, and that is what worke best for me. In my system, it never sounded harsh at all. Impedance should not be an issue with the Linto, as the Akiva was designed to work best into the Linto. I tried it with a Linto and my current Pass. Worked just fine with both. How much have you used it? Thouhg a lot of break-in is not needed, you do need to give it at least 50 hrs before judging...

I'm actually in the process of dumping an Akiva for another cartridge. Too many problems with the Akiva. It tracks very poorly, and it is super-fussy about VTA to the point where I feel like I have to adjust it for each and every record.

Not worth it in my book when there are other cartridges that are in the same price range or even cheaper that perform better.

Thanks for the input. I think the VTA and VTF are correct but I will try to tweak it somewhat. I also have had the cartridge for about 30 hours. May need more time. What other cartridges would you consider. Thanks.

The Linto is actually on the mellow side, but the non-adjustable loading and that I've tried even 'better' (i.e. Koetsu Onyx) sounds rather awkward with Linto compared even to Arkiv, I would say that Linn phono and cartridge are made for each others.

You may double check if the cartridge leads are correctly attached (polarity). And try a better tonearm cable (check our site).

Also, disconnect the ground lead if you don't get any hum. The ground lead can bring noise from Lingo over to Linto.

Send me private e-mail if you have more questions. Thank you.