Question: what do you mean by “organic slant”? As opposed to what? Thanks for this.
The Krystal is a great choice for any Linnie. Great cartridge at £1200. When my Kandid needs retiring I could easily go back to one.
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I have a Troika at Goldring now for re-build. Before I sent it in I asked about the option of a ruby cantilever and was told it would be about 800 pounds instead of the quoted 400 pounds for an aluminum. So option appears to still be there if you want to pay for it!
Ouch!
For that, it makes more sense to trade one in and get Krystal for slightly more £.
I don’t necessarily view ruby cantilever as upgrade for the Troika.
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Yup I elected to go with the recommended standard rebuild with alloy cantilever and will be sending in an additional ASAKA for a rebuild also. WAY less than the price of a Krystal for both cartridges!
As far as tracking is concerned, the metal bodied Supex cartridges (Asaka, Karma, Troika) were much better that their predecessors (Asak) or successors (Arkiv, Akiva). Haven’t heard the Krystal or Kandid yet, though.
“organic slant” = Naturalness and presence.
A feel that gives off a performer are in the room with you.
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That hasn’t been my experience. After a Troika lost it during the fff organ passage in Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antartica, permanently damaging the record, I never quite lost a slight unease when playing challenging music with it. The Arkiv was (maybe) a little better, but the Akiva was the first Linn cartridge I owned that never lost its composure. The Kandid (I’m on my second) is at least as good in that regard.
Interesting. That was quite the opposite of my experience. Just goes to show!
I once had an Arkiv B … on an Ekos (2 or 3) … I can Konfirm that it had a habit of departing the groove as if it had been stung by a wasp.
Sounded good though.
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I had one of these 535i’s. It was my second favorite BMW that I owned.
If I was running a Troika I’d get a Linto.
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Obviously, into a Naim amplifier
Linto or Uphorik?
StageLine or SuperLine ( with or without a PSU)?
Or other…
Thoughts, comment and experiences are very much appreciated.
Thanks ricsimas. That’s one of the options I’ve been looking at. They seem to pass for £500-650 on the s/h market.
Linto sounds great with my Troika.
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Such fond memories I have of owning a Troika.
I remember saving up for it and running it through a Prefix on my Linn LP12 with Naim NAC72-Hicap-NAP140-SBLs.
I remember that my system sounded wonderful with the Troika/Prefix and that I would never need to upgrade again!
I often think that if I were to downgrade(?) this is the system I would go for.
Richard
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Prefix K ?
Very thoughtful suggestion. Thanks.
I think it was a Prefix K but I am sure someone will post soon to confirm.
A second hand Prefix can be bought relatively cheaply and if you can fit it yourself then no problems otherwise you will need a friendly dealer.
Richard
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The Prefix K is tailor made for the Troika. I used one powered directly from a NAC 52; preferred this to using a seperate HiCap but others thought differently.
Hans
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