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The Linn LV V, when was it introduced?

i Wonder whether either were beaten by the LV-V? Certainly not by the time I bought it 20 odd years later - I’d suggest bearings were a good half mm off, there’s a post here from me somewhere being surprised at the difference nipping them up made (with a DL-110 from memory)
I always thought the G-707 to be a reasonably good sounding, if not somewhat spindly, tonearm. Certainly not top drawer MC cartridge good, though. Linn's insistence upon running the likes of Supex SD-900, and, later, Asak DC2100K*, on G-707 always seemed a waste of really good cartridges to moi. Grace did have other tonearm models that would have suited better, mind, only their cheapest model G-707 wasn't one of them. On the other hand, with the likes of F9 on, G-707 were hard to beat for the (then) money. The higher the compliance the better really. It wasn't just the introduction of Ittok LVII that killed off the popularity of G-707, for, along came the superb Mission 774 and the Grace became an instant relic with an all too easily broken headshell.

* Yes, they did. Asak preceded Ittok LVII onto the market by a year.
 
I always thought the G-707 to be a reasonably good sounding, if not somewhat spindly, tonearm. Certainly not top drawer MC cartridge good, though. Linn's insistence upon running the likes of Supex SD-900, and, later, Asak DC2100K*, on G-707 always seemed a waste of really good cartridges to moi. Grace did have other tonearm models that would have suited better, mind, only their cheapest model G-707 wasn't one of them.

Yes, I don’t know who did the math at Linn but the 707 was clearly an arm in the category of the fixed shell SME 3009 Improved, Series III, Infinity Black Widow, AT1120 etc, i.e. an arm very obviously designed for high-compliance 1970s MMs. I have no issue with this design school and would like to see more options today. I feel it is sad we have settled down to a medium mass medium compliance conformity, it rules out some rather wonderful outliers at both sides.

As I mentioned upthread I had a Linn Basik LVV, thought it was absolute crap (just cheap music centre-grade junk), so swapped it out for a then deeply unfashionable but obviously beautifully made low mass fluid-damped Audio Technica AT1120 and an Ortofon M25FL that I got for about 1/3rd retail in closeout (again deeply unfashionable). It was a great combo and would track anything cleanly at little more than a gram and sounded very good. It amused me when the Lenco revivalists (Jean Nantais etc) rediscovered this school of low-mass high-compliance MMs a decade or two ago and started raving about how good they were. Good to see an honest reappraisal. The M25FL being a cult item now if you can find a working one (the suspension tends to collapse with age).

The Grace 707 with a F9E or similar was a great arm/cart combo I’d happily use if still available. There really is nothing wrong with that design school, it is just as valid as the modern ubiquity of medium mass/medium compliance, or high-mass/low compliance at the other extreme (e.g. SPUs in nice 12” 3012s, RM309s, FR66 etc). Always more than one way to do these things. Choices are always good, but you need to understand what they are and stick the right cart in the right arm!
 
i Wonder whether either were beaten by the LV-V? Certainly not by the time I bought it 20 odd years later - I’d suggest bearings were a good half mm off, there’s a post here from me somewhere being surprised at the difference nipping them up made (with a DL-110 from memory)

Both were much better than the LV-V but weren't generating revenue for Linn! Also remember this was when the Linn LP12 was being pushed into entry-level systems and the cost had to be cut somewhere.
 
The Jelco is every bit as good as Linn LV-X, Basik Plus, or Akito Mk1 (at least any example of the latter that hasn't had its pillar crushed).
 
The Jelco is every bit as good as Linn LV-X, Basik Plus, or Akito Mk1 (at least any example of the latter that hasn't had its pillar crushed).

Personally, the Jelco would get my nod over those three, decent though they are.
 
Thanks, all. I will try it out soon using a Goldring 1042. It also needs a new dustcover and base/feet. Can you get genuine new Linn parts easily?
 
I went through all the earlier linn arms ,lvv basik and basik plus all were fine to my ears eventually replaced by a hadcock and later a mission 774 which was excellent
Now I run a ittok and very nice it is

I had LV V (on a Systemdek II before my Sondek), LV X Plus, Ittok and Ekos 2, all bought new. They were all good upgrades. The slightest upgrade was Ittok->Ekos 2, but upgrade it was, and very worthwhile.

I subscribe to the orthodoxy that in the vinyl playback chain the arm is very close to the source and deserves attention as soon as the deck is better than adequate. A £100 pair of speakers is perfectly capable of revealing most of the advantages of a £2K tone-arm.

My Ekos 2 cost me around £1100 IIRC and has given excellent satisfaction on a Sondek, an SL-1210 and a Garrard 301. I bought a second one for £750 which was equally excellent but sold it once I realised I wasn't going to need two. One of the best value toys I've ever bought - better value than my Sondek in fact.
 
Just found the receipt for my Basic plus tonearm bought new in september 1986.
It was £ 111.50 inc vat!
You have to admire a man (I presume, apologies if no) who not only keeps a receipt from 1986, but can go rummage for and locate it! Hats off. Think I paid 95 quid for my Basik Plus in June 1985, I do recall my afromosia LP12 was 408UKP at the same time.
 
You have to admire a man (I presume, apologies if no) who not only keeps a receipt from 1986, but can go rummage for and locate it! Hats off. Think I paid 95 quid for my Basik Plus in June 1985, I do recall my afromosia LP12 was 408UKP at the same time.
I've still got the receipt for my first ever 'separate component' turntable (as opposed to record player), a Pioneer PL-112D with second from TOTL Shure M95ED. Without pulling this out, it was 1976 and the total was $189. ($180. plus our then 5% retail sales tax). The store was Keelan's Appliances, a second location of a local family owned furniture and appliance store full of washers and dryers and refrigerators on one side, and hi-fi and telly on the other. That Shure sure did the clocks and gongs on my then brand new Harvest (Canada) copy of DSOTM better than I had ever heard them before. Happy days.
 
You have to admire a man (I presume, apologies if no) who not only keeps a receipt from 1986, but can go rummage for and locate it! Hats off. Think I paid 95 quid for my Basik Plus in June 1985, I do recall my afromosia LP12 was 408UKP at the same time.
Thankyou !

Yes, a man.....

and yes, the receipt was filed away safely - from Radford Hifi in Bristol.

The next receipt in the file was again from Radford Hifi, (but Bath branch), from September 1990, for £499.90 my Musical Fidelity MC4's - which are now listed up for grabs in the charity section here....
 


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