Recommendation for MM cartridge to fit Linn Ittok LVII arm that will outperform Adikt


I’m about to pursue a Linn Sondek LP12 upgrade which will involve moving up to a better sounding moving magnet cartridge than the Linn K9 that is on there now. I just bought a moving magnet only phono stage (Bryston BP-2 MM) to work with my Bryston BP-26 preamp with MPS-2 outboard power supply.

The Bryston BP-2 MM has a hum right now which I have yet to identify the source of. With that said, things still sound pretty decent through this turntable which I just brought out for the first time since 1999.

I plan to get the new Karousel bearing that is part of the Linn promotion going on right now. My Linn specialist gave me some recommendations and one is to replace the K9 with the Adikt for the Ittok arm. I’m sure that the Adikt will be nice but I was curious if anyone perhaps knows of other complementary MM cartridges that would have the correct drilling pattern and perhaps sound even more refined than the Linn Adikt @ $640.

I may just keep the K9 for now, it seems to be a good rock&roll cartridge and plays rock and techno/new wave type of music in a ballsy way that I like and which is much less fatiguing than the same stuff on my digital sources. Not getting the Adikt gives me an extra $640 to put toward the Radikal Akurate motor/power supply and Keel subchassis that I think would bring this table’s deficiencies up to better high end standards and will be quite audible on my system.

So, just curious about opinions on my old K9, the current Linn MM offering - the Adikt, or some other MM brand for about the same amount of money that will fit the Ittok arm.

I’m already enjoying my music listening more than I have in years BTW. And if anyone has any suggestions on how to quiet the hum during quiet passages (it is there all the time and when I disconnect the RCA inputs from the turntable the Bryston BP-MM phono stage becomes as silent as my quiet digital sources).
masi61

Showing 1 response by boxer12

+1 looscannon. I'm impressed with the clearaudio cartridges.

FWIW there are a lot of great older MM out there. Grado has been mentioned already (the signatures are very good) but both the empire "Z" & "4000" have been on my table and are also very good. Chakster should chime in at some point. He has a lot of experience with MM's.