Drop dead gorgeous…if I was to build another LP12 your plinth would be the one for me.
ATB,
Mark
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That’s clearly a Linn arm, but which model, and is it a special finish?
It looks great, in any event.
Its an Ekos SE (just magnify the photos) very nice arm indeed. I don’t know how to tell the difference between SE 1 and 2, but @Toon will confirm, I’m sure. It certainly is a beautiful plinth.
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Apologies @Richard.Dane,
You are correct. The thread I was hoping to pick up on was the Solstice one & I got confused because the last couple of posts I remembered mentioned the LP12. Embarrassingly, I even wrote one of them!
Sorry for wasting your time.
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A quick pic of my main Sondek.
Its fairly average in spec but does sound nice… Valhalla (upgraded by VP) SME iii and currently an old A&R cartridge whilst Im waiting for Jico stylus to arrive for my Shure. Anyway, hope you like?
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No pictures, but just back from an extended demo at my dealer with a Magik, Akurate, Klimax (Radikal1 and Kandid), Klimax (Radikal2 and Exstatic) and Solstice.
Pretty clear cut to my ears that the new Radikal2 and Exstatic are a significant improvement (at a significant cost!) and take the LP12 to new heights.
The way in which the (new) top end Linn reveals detail is stunning. Sadly the Solstice cannot compete - its very different to the LP12 generally and a fun listen, but I know I won’t be even slightly tempted to deviate from the Linn upgrade path.
A very fun few hours and can’t wait for a home demo very soon!
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That’s a really really nice looking original Sondek 
Love those flutes. Thanks for sharing.
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The lift/lower device is black on the /2, and the head shell is slightly longer to accommodate larger cartridges.
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In the interest of information there is only the Ekos SE and the Ekos SE/1
The first one has a short headshell and longer armtube and the second one has got a longer headshell with curved side a shorter armtube and no black paint on the platform and preloaded bias.
There is no SE/2 at all.
The SE/1 now comes with a silver cuing lever instead of the black one.
Phew!
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Ah, thanks Skep!
That sounds like quite a demo! Do let us know what your next move is.
Now. That. Is - an Opinion. Thank you…!!!
The new Linn cartridge is clearly way ahead of what the Solstice package can provide at its’ price point…
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The fact that a top spec LP12 is at a different price point has to be critical when comparing.
Thanks @Skeptikal - I thought there was Ekos SE (1 ) and then 2. Glad to be corrected.
Was the first SE without the preloaded bias then?
Wonder why it was included on the 1…
@WhiskyGuy
Thanks…I need (well…want) to hear the Ekstatik then!
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Your most welcome @steviebee
Yes there was the new SE and then with some input especially from a very prominent dealer it was decided that the arm would indeed include some modifications to allow other than only Linn cartridges to be used and at the same time it was discovered although very slight there was a bias anomaly that even predated the SE to previous Ekos variants that the bias calculations were very slightly light.
So the SE/1 came with that margin already preloaded.
This anomaly was really only noticeable by very experienced dealers on setup and can now be observed in free flow balancing of the arm " slight return to rest "
Nice to know that as a company they too just listen and accommodate through R&D with specialist dealers.
Hope you find this of interest. 
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The preload for the Ekos SE/0 (Ekos SE) was introduced around S/n 11040 ( Dec 2008) So the later SE/0s do feature pre-load for the anti-skate and so after this time point in time and later serial Nos it was no longer necessary to dial up an extra 0.2-0.3 of anti-skate to get optimum performance.
As for the introduction of the larger headshell and heavy counterweight option, they became available in July 2012 around S/n 11540.
The picture said it all at that time… Both Left +ve (white) and left _ve (blue) tag wires were within the width of a fag paper of shorting on the rear of the headshell when the cartridge was correctly aligned!
KR
Peter
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The same XV1 type Dynavector mounted in the new enlarged headshell and the problem was eliminated
KR, Peter
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Blackstar, I remember my visit well. Over 8 years ago now… September 2013.
The deck was presented to us mounted on a cask but thankfully not played on one! 
A very good event and well attended… Of course the offer of a drink (Highland Park) may have swelled
the numbers. Ivor was on good form too
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