I've been hearing talk regarding a newer version of the Linn Akiva moving coil cartridge. Although many people thought a newer cartridge by Linn would make sense, (especially with all the changes and upgrades to the Sondek and phono preamplifiers)...nothing official has been released by Linn up to this point.
So, once again are there any "official" plans for a new moving coil cartridge by Linn :?:
NEW LINN AKIVA DESIGN?
Moderator: Staff
-
Tony Tune-age
- Very active member
- Posts: 1661
- Joined: 2009-12-19 19:07
- Location: United States
NEW LINN AKIVA DESIGN?
Tony Tune-age
Well, as is obvious, there has been no Akiva replacement coming from Linn so far. I keep asking my rep if there is any news on that front and I keep getting told no. He mentioned a couple years ago that one was being worked on but later that year said that there wasn't enough improvement possible to warrant a new model.
Just two weeks ago I sold my Akiva and bought a new one. I asked once again but was told still no new one in the works. So I went ahead and ordered another one. It arrived last week and, of course, the first thing I did was to examine it under the microscope. Lo and behold, the stylus has been changed - IMHO definitely for the better. To explain the change more effectively I have made a little illustration:
Above you see four stylus illustrations. The original Akiva stylus is labeled "V1" and was what was on my very early Akiva (#0045). The boron cantilever has a slot in the end that the diamond fits in. The slot is a bit larger than the diamond so there is room for misalignment as shown in the illustration "V1 Misaligned". It would be great if this latter illustration were only theoretical but over the years I did run into a few Akiva units where the diamond was not aligned properly - a couple as bad or worse than the 5° error shown (which were sent back to Linn as new defectives).
This cantilever design also had the possibility of structural damage from the weakness of the fork created by the slot in the boron. While I never saw this with an Akiva I did see it with a Koetsu that used the same cantilever/stylus design. The customer set the stylus down on the record a little hard but nothing you would normally expect to cause damage. When he tried to play the record the arm just slid across. Looking at the cantilever under the microscope you could see that the left side for the fork (looking from the bottom) had broken off and the diamond had gone with it leaving the end of the cantilever with one tine. Around this time I noticed that Linn had added a small rectangular piece of material (that also appears to be boron) fitted around the diamond and glued to the cantilever with it. This is what is shown as V2. When the Koetsu came back from Japan it also had this little reinforcement on it. Although this seemed like it would increase tip mass a bit, I figured this was to strengthen the join and this was later confirmed on the Linn forum by one of their engineers. I had also hoped the larger rectangle would make it easier to assure the correct alignment of the diamond with the cantilever but this did not seem to be the case as I still found some styli with improperly oriented diamonds. This reinforced mounting has been used by Linn for several years.
So now we come to the stylus on the Akiva I just received (a little over #2100). As you can see from the illustration labeled V3 they have redone the mounting of the diamond. There is no longer a slot but instead a hole is cut in the cantilever for the diamond to fit through. Even better, the hole is a pretty tight fit for the diamond pretty much assuring proper alignment and indeed my diamond was dead nuts on! Yeah! Since the mounting is now a hole the cantilever should be much stronger so the extra piece of material has been dispensed with which should reduce tip mass. Finally, while you can't see this from the illustrations I made the diamond now doesn't protrude as far from bottom of the cantilever - the part of the diamond below the cantilever is shorter. The extra diamond is now above the cantilever where it is surrounded by a blob of adhesive. To me this means that the action of the groove is going to be more directly transferred to the cantilever by the diamond which should mean a more accurate reading of the groove with more fine detail. Both the shorter diamond and the tighter, more precise fit of the cantilever should lead to this more accurate tracing so my belief is that this should be a significant improvement.
I have not had time to give the new cartridge a listen yet and verify my theory. And due to various commitments and the need to burn the Akiva in a bit it will probably be a couple of weeks before I can report on the musical qualities of the V3 Akiva so this is somewhat of a part one of this report. But I thought people would be interested to know that Linn are still making improvements in the Akiva even if they don't advertise them. I have not looked inside the body to see if there have been any changes there (not that I could necessarily even recognize them if there were) but the improvements to the stylus are quite encouraging.
Just two weeks ago I sold my Akiva and bought a new one. I asked once again but was told still no new one in the works. So I went ahead and ordered another one. It arrived last week and, of course, the first thing I did was to examine it under the microscope. Lo and behold, the stylus has been changed - IMHO definitely for the better. To explain the change more effectively I have made a little illustration:
Above you see four stylus illustrations. The original Akiva stylus is labeled "V1" and was what was on my very early Akiva (#0045). The boron cantilever has a slot in the end that the diamond fits in. The slot is a bit larger than the diamond so there is room for misalignment as shown in the illustration "V1 Misaligned". It would be great if this latter illustration were only theoretical but over the years I did run into a few Akiva units where the diamond was not aligned properly - a couple as bad or worse than the 5° error shown (which were sent back to Linn as new defectives).
This cantilever design also had the possibility of structural damage from the weakness of the fork created by the slot in the boron. While I never saw this with an Akiva I did see it with a Koetsu that used the same cantilever/stylus design. The customer set the stylus down on the record a little hard but nothing you would normally expect to cause damage. When he tried to play the record the arm just slid across. Looking at the cantilever under the microscope you could see that the left side for the fork (looking from the bottom) had broken off and the diamond had gone with it leaving the end of the cantilever with one tine. Around this time I noticed that Linn had added a small rectangular piece of material (that also appears to be boron) fitted around the diamond and glued to the cantilever with it. This is what is shown as V2. When the Koetsu came back from Japan it also had this little reinforcement on it. Although this seemed like it would increase tip mass a bit, I figured this was to strengthen the join and this was later confirmed on the Linn forum by one of their engineers. I had also hoped the larger rectangle would make it easier to assure the correct alignment of the diamond with the cantilever but this did not seem to be the case as I still found some styli with improperly oriented diamonds. This reinforced mounting has been used by Linn for several years.
So now we come to the stylus on the Akiva I just received (a little over #2100). As you can see from the illustration labeled V3 they have redone the mounting of the diamond. There is no longer a slot but instead a hole is cut in the cantilever for the diamond to fit through. Even better, the hole is a pretty tight fit for the diamond pretty much assuring proper alignment and indeed my diamond was dead nuts on! Yeah! Since the mounting is now a hole the cantilever should be much stronger so the extra piece of material has been dispensed with which should reduce tip mass. Finally, while you can't see this from the illustrations I made the diamond now doesn't protrude as far from bottom of the cantilever - the part of the diamond below the cantilever is shorter. The extra diamond is now above the cantilever where it is surrounded by a blob of adhesive. To me this means that the action of the groove is going to be more directly transferred to the cantilever by the diamond which should mean a more accurate reading of the groove with more fine detail. Both the shorter diamond and the tighter, more precise fit of the cantilever should lead to this more accurate tracing so my belief is that this should be a significant improvement.
I have not had time to give the new cartridge a listen yet and verify my theory. And due to various commitments and the need to burn the Akiva in a bit it will probably be a couple of weeks before I can report on the musical qualities of the V3 Akiva so this is somewhat of a part one of this report. But I thought people would be interested to know that Linn are still making improvements in the Akiva even if they don't advertise them. I have not looked inside the body to see if there have been any changes there (not that I could necessarily even recognize them if there were) but the improvements to the stylus are quite encouraging.
-
Tony Tune-age
- Very active member
- Posts: 1661
- Joined: 2009-12-19 19:07
- Location: United States
That is interesting news ThomasOK, thanks for sharing! Perhaps the Linn Akiva won't have a name change, but will continue to be improved over time. Unless of course Linn eventually creates a totally differnet moving coil cartridge.
Looking forward to your thoughts after the initial break-in period.
Looking forward to your thoughts after the initial break-in period.
Tony Tune-age
Checking it naked is definitely planned once it is burned in and I have a feel for how it sounds stock (but I'll need to keep the drapes closed so nobody sees me!). I recall one of Linn's engineers said they used theirs naked and others have tried it and reported good results. I actually tried this with my original Akiva when I first received it and didn't feel there was a worthwhile improvement. But since that was before torque fine-tuning, Keel, Ekos SE, Trampolin2, CH plinth, Radikal, Urika and Dynamik for Radikal I am pretty sure the resolving power of my LP12 is a touch higher now! ;-)
Klaus, what you were told by the German reps is almost exactly what I've been told by the US rep.
Klaus, what you were told by the German reps is almost exactly what I've been told by the US rep.
I knew someone out there wouldn't be able to resist. I was trying to be nice - not going on at length about exposed cantilevers, etc. but there is obviously room for any number more double entendres on this subject!Charlie1 wrote:So you're not tempted to put on the Stones 'let it loose' and see Debbie's expression?ThomasOK wrote:I'll need to keep the drapes closed so nobody sees me!
-
Chris Morton
- Member
- Posts: 33
- Joined: 2008-02-15 00:25
Time to resurrect this thread. It's official - the Akiva is no longer in production! Linn announced today that they had ended production and the few they have in stock will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
Obviously a replacement is in the wings and Linn's statement on this was: "The question on everyone’s lips will undoubtedly be what’s replacing Akiva? Watch this space - we’ll have some news for you very soon!"
So, as usual, not a lot of information. What is obvious is that Linn will soon have a new reference cartridge and we can certainly expect improved performance. I believe we can also expect a price increase although my hope is that it will be modest. My best guess, and it is only a guess, would be between $4500 and $5000US. But then it is likely to show the door to all those $10.000 cartridges out there. If the rumors I hear are true it is quite likely it will be manufactured by a different company which would likely mean a new name and possibly a different look. I guess we will see "very soon".
PS. Chris, somehow I missed that you had asked me a question here over a year ago. (I notice sometimes new postings don't show up as new when I log in. I don't suppose the chance that I am logged into the forum on 3 or 4 different machines at any one time could have anything to do with it?) Anyway, probably needless to say the Akiva sounds great but is likely soon to be replaced. I would put burn-in at somewhere around 100 to 200 hours each but I think the Akiva sounds great out of the box.
Obviously a replacement is in the wings and Linn's statement on this was: "The question on everyone’s lips will undoubtedly be what’s replacing Akiva? Watch this space - we’ll have some news for you very soon!"
So, as usual, not a lot of information. What is obvious is that Linn will soon have a new reference cartridge and we can certainly expect improved performance. I believe we can also expect a price increase although my hope is that it will be modest. My best guess, and it is only a guess, would be between $4500 and $5000US. But then it is likely to show the door to all those $10.000 cartridges out there. If the rumors I hear are true it is quite likely it will be manufactured by a different company which would likely mean a new name and possibly a different look. I guess we will see "very soon".
PS. Chris, somehow I missed that you had asked me a question here over a year ago. (I notice sometimes new postings don't show up as new when I log in. I don't suppose the chance that I am logged into the forum on 3 or 4 different machines at any one time could have anything to do with it?) Anyway, probably needless to say the Akiva sounds great but is likely soon to be replaced. I would put burn-in at somewhere around 100 to 200 hours each but I think the Akiva sounds great out of the box.
The new Lin Kandid MC phono cartridge has been spotted in the wild. What You See And Hear received the first one from Linn and has some photos and information on their site and Facebook page. Here's the link to the site:
http://www.whatyouseeandhear.com/events
And here is what it looks like:
It has also been reported about on the Linn forum by a member who heard it there and has included additional photos but I can't provide a link as the Linn forum is having technical problems. He found the musical performance impressive indeed.
The Kandid, which certainly appears likely to set a new reference level in LP music reproduction, has started shipping in low numbers and is selling in the US for $4710 - an increase of about 30%. Word in the UK is of a 25% increase. While this is by no means cheap, it still puts the Kandid at around half the price of it main competitors. Plus the Akiva can be traded in towards the Kandid, although I don't have trade in value figures yet.
From the photos it seems highly likely that the Kandid is still being made by Scan-Tech like the Akiva, despite some rumors of a change of manufacturer. It also shows signs of several improvements to the design including a "naked" body which is lighter in weight and has beefier stainless steel inserts for the headshell screws and a bit larger lands. This should lead to an even more secure fitting to the headshell. It also shows use of non-metallic materials in the yoke and the screw that affixes it to the aluminum body. It is now natural aluminum colored although we don't know if there is a performance improvement in that or if it is just to make it look good on the end of an Ekos SE. I'm sure more details will emerge with the official announcement sometime this week. But it looks safe to say that we will have access to an even greater level of musical enjoyment from our cherished records.
http://www.whatyouseeandhear.com/events
And here is what it looks like:
It has also been reported about on the Linn forum by a member who heard it there and has included additional photos but I can't provide a link as the Linn forum is having technical problems. He found the musical performance impressive indeed.
The Kandid, which certainly appears likely to set a new reference level in LP music reproduction, has started shipping in low numbers and is selling in the US for $4710 - an increase of about 30%. Word in the UK is of a 25% increase. While this is by no means cheap, it still puts the Kandid at around half the price of it main competitors. Plus the Akiva can be traded in towards the Kandid, although I don't have trade in value figures yet.
From the photos it seems highly likely that the Kandid is still being made by Scan-Tech like the Akiva, despite some rumors of a change of manufacturer. It also shows signs of several improvements to the design including a "naked" body which is lighter in weight and has beefier stainless steel inserts for the headshell screws and a bit larger lands. This should lead to an even more secure fitting to the headshell. It also shows use of non-metallic materials in the yoke and the screw that affixes it to the aluminum body. It is now natural aluminum colored although we don't know if there is a performance improvement in that or if it is just to make it look good on the end of an Ekos SE. I'm sure more details will emerge with the official announcement sometime this week. But it looks safe to say that we will have access to an even greater level of musical enjoyment from our cherished records.
Yes, it bears more than a passing similarity to my Lyra Delos. The three point mount is clearly a unique feature and classic Lyra rice paper makes its first appearance on this new Linn cartridge. I suspect that this uses the Lyra perfect cantilever angle technology or whatever it is called that first appeared on the Delos and is now on the Kleos and flagship cart too. It also sports the plastic front bolt of the newer range.
Interestingly the first pic on the WYSAH site appears to show it riding VERY low.
CJ
Interestingly the first pic on the WYSAH site appears to show it riding VERY low.
CJ
-
Tony Tune-age
- Very active member
- Posts: 1661
- Joined: 2009-12-19 19:07
- Location: United States
-
Tony Tune-age
- Very active member
- Posts: 1661
- Joined: 2009-12-19 19:07
- Location: United States