Linn Ekos SE

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finster
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Linn Ekos SE

Post by finster »

Hi there, hope everyone is doing well and staying safe - haven't posted in a while but was lucky enough to fulfill an ambition and recently received my dream tonearm - a bright and shiny new from factory Ekos SE to replace my very satisfying and much loved Ekos 2.

When fitting the arm it's clear what amazing build quality and beauty linn have produced, however I was quite unimpressed to see that it was impossible to turn off the anti-skate and the tracking force on the arm was not close to calibration.
Downforce reads ~1.7 on scale and 1.5 on arm dial?

My Ekos 2 was much close calibrated and I could at least get it to sit still with zero anti-skate which made Zero balancing the downforce much easier.

Is this to be expected with a new version of the Ekos SE? Does it need to go back to factory for recalibration?
Should I just ignore and set the weight and skate by ear regardless of what the dials tell me?

much appreciated as always!
beck
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Re: Linn Ekos SE

Post by beck »

Hi finster

Congratulation! The feel of such a beauty is something special.

ThomasOK will give you the best answer but from what I have heard and read your description is in line with how the arm works.

When you start listening it will be of no importance though I do understand your question. :-)
Playing cd’s…………
Ianw
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Re: Linn Ekos SE

Post by Ianw »

I’m sure Thomas will provide professional advice on this one.

For what it’s worth the Ekos SE is factory set with a residual bias. There are good reasons for this as described by David Williamson, Linn Chief Product Engineer; I cant recall the exact reasons offhand.

You can prevent the arm skating under residual bias by placing a suitably sized item, like a glass, on the deck in such a way the side of the glass touches the bearing pillar. This lets you balance the arm as the bearing is free to move; it’s just the pillar thats locked in position.

Regarding accuracy of tracking force dial, my Ekos SE has a difference of around 0.05 light compared to several digital scales.
Charlie1
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Re: Linn Ekos SE

Post by Charlie1 »

Ianw wrote: 2020-09-09 12:27 For what it’s worth the Ekos SE is factory set with a residual bias. There are good reasons for this as described by David Williamson, Linn Chief Product Engineer; I cant recall the exact reasons offhand.
The AS on early SE arms like mine is 0.2 - 0.3 out of sync with the tracking force. I think the fix was to pre-load the AS so that they match - not sure I've used the best terminology.
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ThomasOK
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Re: Linn Ekos SE

Post by ThomasOK »

Hi finster! Your findings are consistent with what we have found about the newer Ekos SE. The anti-skating on the early Ekos SE (and also on Ekos IIs) was about .3 grams too low requiring the arm to be set to more like 2.05 with cartridges that track at 1.75. When this was brought to the attention of Linn they decided to reset the anti-skating to .3 grams at the 0 setting so it comes out right when dialed in. Not the most elegant solution, but it is what it is.

On the tracking force, yes it is also off from the force shown on the dial. However, this is even more complicated as it sounds best when the dial force is set to the recommended force (1.75 on Kandid and Krystal, a bit better at 1.7 on Adikt) even though the actual tracking force will then be high. However, further musical improvement will be had by then moving the counterweight to bring it back to the proper tracking force. Changing the dial to make it read correctly on a scale actually sounds worse.

There is a thread where this problem was brought up, tested and discussed. Here is the link:
https://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtop ... f=2&t=3604

So, yes, in the end you have to adjust by ear. But do read the link for a fuller explanation.
The LP12 Whisperer
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finster
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Re: Linn Ekos SE

Post by finster »

Thank you all for the very informative replies - I feel reassured that all is well and some great tips about optimal setup too.
Will read the thread thanks Thomas!

Its such a beautiful piece of machining :)

PS. Another QQ: overhang of stylus tip is still 18mm in direct line past the centre spindle right?
Catweazle
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Re: Linn Ekos SE

Post by Catweazle »

Hello finster,
I just surfaced this thread, as I'm wrapping my head around spending my upgrade budget for next year right now. As I'm with an Ekos 2, upgrading to Ekos SE (and Keel) appears like a good plan. You obviously have been impressed by the mechanical merits of the Ekos SE, but did not comment on its merits wrt musicality. Any T-shirt size for the improvement, please?
Happy listening!
CW
PC or LP12-Krsel-KRad/1-Keel-Ekos SE/1-Akiva-Urika II | KRDSM | KEB/2 | C6100/D | AV5140/038
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