It is an EPC270C cartridge indeed.
2 Likes
Brings back fond memories of my early indulgence.
Thanks for sharing. 
I bought the first iteration of this deck in 1987/88 from Audio Venue in Crystal Palace. Before the Woodsong plinth it was black ash and originally came with the Basik arm and K9 cartridge. It now lives in Brisbane Australia.
I hope this is a good place to sneak in an LP12 question.
I got a second-hand Troika to replace my MM Adikt when i picked up a second-hand Urika off eBay. My arm is the Mk1 Ekos, while the rest of the deck is pretty much done - karousel, keel, akurate-radikal. Would a better Linn cartridge be worth the upgrade or is hierarchy still king and an Ekos SE is the next step?
12 Likes
This brings back my memory, I used to live in Crystal Palace, 10-min drive to Audio Vennue. I got my 32.5/HICAP/250 & Linn 12 /Ittok/Troika from Chris @ Audio Venue in 1987. I do not remember the name of the owner of the shop, but I remember his wife worked for HIFI Review where Chris Frankland and Malcome Stuart also worked at.
Hi Mike
I would go for a better arm in the first instance - it was my understanding that no Ekos 1’s ever made it to Australia, the Ekos 2 certainly did though . I know the Ekos 1 had a few bearing issues
Are you sure your arm is not the Ekos 2 ? I have it on one of my LP12’s and it’s a good one , in fact some experts say much better than the Linn Akito arm which has just been discontinued.
The Ekos SE is the wholly grail of course , but very expensive here in Australia . There is a new arm out called the Arko which has replaced the Akito , stereonet is saying it’s $6k here in Australia . It may well suit your requirements without going right up the tree to the Ekos SE
Have a look on Stereonet Australia , there are also a couple of new Linn moving coils also now out. If your Troika is still in good Knick and sounds good then keep that for a while and make that your next move after arm
What phono stage and power supply do you have?
Cheers
Bevo
1 Like
Sorry just read akurate - radikal
Maybe Arko arm will be good
Radikal II is a massive upgrade IMHO. I’d probably go for that before changing the arm.
Yes correct Clive but hugely expensive here in Australia
Bit over the top really
I used Audio Venue a couple of times. First place I heard Naim 135/SBLs - wow!
I think the owners were Derek … & Chris … ?
I know Derek and Chris, but there was another, slightly older man.
Actually, your name, @Ian, rings a bell, his name is also Ian.
1 Like
It’s been a while since I posted an LP12 pic, nothing on the deck has changed, but I’ve wall mounted it, using my own home built shelf. Very pleased with it, no more tip-toeing around while a record is playing, damn suspended floors😠
12 Likes
Your post also stirred some memories. I dealt with Audio Venue several times during 1988/89. Indeed, all my purchases from them are still in use.
My contact there was Chris Thomas who was most helpful especially with the set-up of my equipment. He was also a reviewer and wrote, I believe, for The Flat Response, Hi-Fi Review and possibly others.
It was probably not until the mid or late 90’s that I had cause to call on their services again and I was surprised to find their premises closed. I seem to recall being told that they’d had problems with their Linn dealership and that this had eventually led to them closing down. I don’t know if there
2 Likes
Re my previous message…don’t know what went wrong there! Senior moment probably!
I was going on to say that I didn’t know if there was any truth in the reason for their closing. In any event it was a bit of a shame since they were local to me and gave good service.
Yes, Chris was most helpful, and he was a particularly good HIFI reviewer, he did set up my LP12. I moved to Zurich in 92 for a new job and was too surprised to find out that they closed soon afterwards.
What’s the Naim box with the display?
Radikal2 upgrade would be the most bang for the buck
Thanks for all the replies.
Have contacted the local Linn dealer for the upgrade cost and more dangerously asked for a post-upgrade comparison with a Klimax - EKOS SE/Kandid using the akurate case.
1 Like
Good one Mike
That’s beautiful!
1 Like