Yes 
with all this the 2024 plan for the LP12 now stands at:
- move to internal Prefix K phono
- internal Hercules to external Lingo 4
- Jelco arm & cable to Ittok LVIII mk2
- MC3 Turbo cart to AT 33 PTG/II
- depending on dealer quote possibly also Karousel
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I think you’ve made a good decision. And I believe once again it was @Igel who supported it and has personal experience of that set up, which he currently has!
I did wonder why you were contemplating changing out XS3 if you like it. Personally, i would stick with your streamer and have a house tablet for music which you can all access. With the nDAC it should be formidable. I don’t think an NDX2 will be better and perhaps worse!
Congratulations on you purchases @daddycool
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Well, so much new gear available, I had to re-establish I made the right choice I guess.
The golden idea, brilliant, thank you! Yes that should work better, will look into it.
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Okay then…
Looks like an outstanding plan.
Really excited for you 
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Hope you enjoy the Prefix, smart decision! : )
Meanwhile, as mentioned, I did have an initial brief direct comparison between the phono stages of the N50 and the NSC222 - and the 222’s phono does sound a bit better to me. Not entirely a 100% direct comparison of phonos only (as the 222 preamp also likely plays a part?) and I will listen further before posting more conclusions but can say that they sound similar and are both very good indeed.
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Time will tell if that’s indeed the case 
but it eased my mind about major system changes now.
Ah thank you! Interesting that there remains a type of house sound even as the level does go up.
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Status update and a slightly changed but more firm planning:
Had some good talks left and right the last few days. First of all again with Paul at The Audio Gallery for sourcing and servicing an Ittok, wonderful guy. We all missed the one that was auctioned last week for too much money, priorities during the holidays and so. The LVIII mk2 versions seem to pop up somewhere about three times a year on average, so ready for the next one.
Also with my Linn dealer, I value the relationship and then you also have to make it viable for him. Instead of just ordering everything elsewhere and expecting him to fix and assemble things. It took some explaining where I’m coming from and what I’m really interested in. He’s now on the same page with what I want and how we’re going to find the desired end result together, so that’s great.
As for the Prefix it turned out that when distributor Latham said they were comfortable servicing it, they meant sending it off to the service department at Naim HQ. Apart from the back and forths to the UK with the long turnaround and CO2 involved it’s not much of a problem, as the price quote is the same and it will be guaranteed better than new.
All in all I now have a happy project feeling about this. Meanwhile an adjustment had to be made to meet a sensible budget for it all, as the Prefix but especially the Ittok will cost a fair bit more than thought previously. So instead of the Lingo 4 my dealer offered a serviced late Lingo 2 plus Karousel upgrade for about the same money, and we both agreed this would make more sense in this context. So I’m now pursuing the following:
- Karousel new
- Lingo 2 (SMB) serviced
- Ittok LVIII (hopefully mk2 otherwise mk1) serviced/rewired
- Prefix (K version) serviced
- AT 33 PTG/II new
By the time all is there this topic will likely have closed automatically
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Nice setup!
Lingo 2 is great. Make sure it’s serviced though. Even my late 2006 one needed doing last year. More PRAT/boogie from Lingo 1 but the L2 runs the motor quieter and has more detail and tunefulness.
For those of us that are not convinced by the Karousel there was a recent post on the Lejonklou forum about the Karousel bolts needing to align with the Keel holes to prevent them touching. Apparently this improves it a lot musically although I dont work on my decks so dont fully understand what is being suggested. I assume the Kore also has similar holes as the Keel.
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Even on the Cirkus / Steel sub there is quite a bit of clearance around the screws, meaning the bearing can be rotated either way (slightly!) after the screws are in but not tightened. So I assume they just mean the ‘mid point’ is found before fully tightening the screws. That way the screw threads aren’t in contact with the sub chassis holes.
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I really dont know.
How much do the Ittoks go for, and what do you have at the moment? I’ve one on a Valhalla with a Cirkus bearing.
Great with the Prefix ! I would go for a Lingo 1 with removed mains filter,instead of a Lingo 2,for more engagement . I would also go for a PreCirkus instead of a Karousel.
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The three studs on the Karousel need to go into the Keel holes before tightening to the specified torque, nothing more to it.
That very much depends on the version and condition, Mike, and whether it has been refurbished for bearings and possibly also internal rewiring:
Screwed-in headshell:
- LVII mk1 - split counterweight
- LVII mk2 - single counterweight
(anything between about £600 unserviced and £800 serviced)
Bonded headshell
- LVIII mk1 - armrest on deck - large headshell as LVII - rare
- LVIII mk2 - armrest on arm - small headshell as Ekos - extremely rare
(anything between about £800 unserviced and £1100 serviced)
My new LP12 started out with an Ittok LVII mk2 supplied by my dealer (bearings serviced by Linn themselves) 6 years ago, which wasn’t a good match in my system then. It was quickly replaced with my current Jelco TS-550-S and its matching cable, which frankly is a better and more even combo than the original wiring Ittok LVII with T-Kable was.
The LVIII however is a significant step up from the LVII, closer to Ekos, especially the mk2. Internal rewiring with expert bearing service (formerly by Audio Origami, now passed on to The Audio Gallery) is said on various forums to take Ittoks to a new level.
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Audio Origami were reputed to do a great job refurbishing an Ittok.
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I’d make sure the Lingo 2 is the later variant. The original was a reboxed Lingo1. Not sure at what serial number the change occurred.
Lingo 2 units with serial numbers after 656968 have the same SMB (surface mounted board) as the Lingo 3. Earlier units have the same internals as the Lingo 1.
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If you like PRaT and boogie go for Lingo 1,Lingo 2 sounds rather stiff.
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It’s good to have a plan but as often things keep changing a bit in real life
I did find a really mint Ittok LVIII mk1, so the one that looks like the ubiquitous LVII, in a new looking box with also a cable, very happy with that. Had to purchase it quickly and directly though, to get it at all before someone else and also at a reasonable price. It’s here already in from the UK, so the plan of having it serviced and rewired in the UK would now mean sending it back over, a bit pointless given how good it looks, hoping the original wiring will be good enough as the bearings are.
I was willing to send my Prefix back to the UK as you know, but Naim HQ informed our distributor they will not carry out a change from S-spec to K-spec during service. This surprised me as I understood from here and the other forum that it is a both not much work, and a common procedure with all of the classic Naim phono boards. So no service for now, my Ortofon is also not worn out yet, I will leave this a bit to rethink options as the Prefix was not an expensive buy in the first place.
Then as to bearings and power supplies, I will soon have a Klimax Radikal 1 keeping my Cirkus. My dealer offered me a pre-loved one for the same price as the envisaged new Lingo 4 / Karousel upgrade. He has the parts to continue support for it, and this was what my ears always aspired to anyway, so a better move.
He reminded me of my very first demo end of 2017, before the Lingo 4 was there, with a line-up of three Majiks with only a different power supply Hercules, Lingo 3, Radikal 1 fitted. I thought the Hercules sounded quite nice, didn’t like the Lingo 3 so much (also not on the mid-level LP12) , and was gobsmacked by the Radikal. Ever since I found that Radikal is in fact the biggest possible change, making all other configuration changes a lot less relevant. So again very happy to get the Klimax one I liked best but always considered out of financial reach.
I hope in February I can finally replace writing stories with sending a picture!
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