With this episode, my LP12 diary comes to a recess.  Thanks to all friends who walked the miles with me.   My thanks go specially to Master Linn Yu, Edmond and Dr. Lee for providing invaluable information and help to convert me into a Linn follower.  I would also like to thank the friend in UK who sold this excellent LP12 and the rare to find Ittok III arm to me.   As I predicted, the Ittok III goes well with the LP12 as the perfect match made for each other.  Putting them together is what I should do to these beautifully engineered products. 

Now some feedback from the audition party of this combo.  After hours of setup work, when the first music note was sounded, it was however not a full house over joy.  There wasn't the dynamic extension especially in the upper end and the mid range seemed a bit stiff while the characteristic Linn tempo wasn't evident enough too. Nevertheless, the potential could be felt with presence of smooth flow of rich details.   We didn't doubt the TT setup but suspected that somewhere in the link, something could have taken away that dynamic sweetness.  We then changed the weakest link by replacing the original Linn phono cable by the Kimber Kable Tak cable which immediately regained a lot of lost treble.  A few more moments of run-in seemed to be opening up more.  As always, just when the sound was beginning to improve, the party had to end because everybody had to rush back for preparation of the new year.

When the setup party ended, I had a hard look at the combo and the placement of the cables.    I disconnected all the cables, had a check up from underside of the LP 12, tightened up all the screws again, then I moved the T30 step up transformer away from the CD player to keep it from noise interference and placed it next to the EAR 834P phono amp.  I had to change to a pair of Monster Cable for connecting it to the 834P because the previous pair was too stiff to be bended.  The Monster cables are stand-in for the moment.  I am thinking of replacing with another pair of Monster cable made specially for phono signal but I need to change the DIN plug to RCA connectors.  I am sure that this pair would contribute to some further improvement.  The biggest discovery of the day however was when I place the T30 step-up transformer on 4 Audiotechnica soft supports, the upper end immediately opened up with air and each musical note became effortlessly audible.  The proportion of the instruments was also much improved.  I guess the step up transformer apart from avoidance of noise interference should also be protected from unwanted resonance as far as possible.   Master Linn Yu also reminded me that the 4 little cartridge wires need to be run in as they were brand new.  So after over 10 hours of running, it is gradually replacing stiffness with mellowed sweetness.

Master Linn Yu of course would not give up convincing me to get a brand new LP 12 and Ekos arm.  He was right in that it is failure proof to get the beloved Linn sound. He wasn't as pervasive on Linn cartridge but may be it is his next line of preaching.   But considering the escalating price of the brand new LP 12 and the Ekos arm, I think I have got a good deal for this nice 2nd hand set.  For the moment, I think I'll stay with this nostalgic set being an old Linn chassis with upgraded rosewood plinth, modernized with the Cirkus bearing and a brand new motor, then mounting with the latest out-of-production  Ittok III arm which is said to perform nearly as good as the Ekos I.  They all match together as the perfect combo.  The cartridge I am using for the time being is the Ortofon Rohammn.  I have always loved Ortofon for its musicality and may be later in the year, I'll consider its top of the line MC5000.  Afterall, it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg when compared with the other high-end cartridges. 

So, until then, this diary will come to a recess and thank you all again for joining me.

Wish every hifi friend many many hours of joyful listening in the year of the Boar.