Linn Sondek LP12 Developments for 2022
Linn announces the launch of exciting new Sondek LP12 upgrade components for existing owners, and a refresh of their Sondek LP12 packages!
Arko – an all-new, original, gimballed tonearm.
Kendo – an elite performance moving coil cartridge; designed to pair perfectly with Arko.
Krane – Linn’s adept entry-level tonearm is now available to order as a standalone upgrade.
Koil – a formidable entry-level moving coil cartridge.
Akurate LP12 has stepped aside to make way for a new model designation, with Linn’s mid-tier turntable package being henceforth rebadged as Selekt LP12 – with Arko and Kendo fitted as standard.
Their entry-level turntable package, Majik LP12, is now available in two variants:
Majik LP12 MM features the longstanding Adikt moving magnet cartridge.
Majik LP12 MC features the new Koil moving coil cartridge; offering a superb first step onto the ladder of premium moving coil cartridges.
Linn’s cartridge range is now expanded to offer six distinct performance levels: Adikt, Koil, Krystal, Kendo, Kandid, and Ekstatik.
Gilad Tiefenbrun, Linn’s CEO, says:
“With the 50th anniversary of Sondek LP12 fast approaching, these latest upgrades showcase the longevity of this iconic product. Linn is proud to expand the range of performance enhancements available to Sondek LP12 owners worldwide, regardless of where they are on their journey to vinyl perfection.”
Arko
Design
Linn has returned to fundamentals with Arko, by removing all bar the mission-critical elements of tonearm design, boiling these down to their essence, and then honing what was left to superlative standards.
Arko is an original, high-performance tonearm, and Linn’s first entirely new in-house model since 2006. Rigid in construction and fluid of motion, great effort was taken during this tonearm’s development to ensure that it retains both fundamental simplicity and astonishing performance.
Construction
Arko possesses greatly improved rigidity, precision, and coupling throughout the arm wand assembly, thanks to machined and cold-drawn 7075 aluminium specified throughout; and the ultra-stable gimbal platform facilitates superb bearing concentricity and alignment.
Being of gimballed design, Arko has greater inherent stability and rigidity than alternative designs such as unipivots. This results in an improved sense of depth, impact, and emotion for the listener. Its ultra-stable gimbal platform facilitates superb bearing concentricity and alignment.
Special care was taken to ensure that 7075-grade aluminium would be used exclusively throughout the arm — from headshell to gimbal — with the resultant material synergy and coupling effectively banishing undesirable resonances away from the delicate generator, and out through the subchassis.
Finish
The clean, consistent, and congruous fit and finish of Arko renders it a thing of beauty. With a mixture of arrow-straight lines and curvaceous undulations, the eye is drawn to the fine lines of the electroformed aluminium Linn badge — proudly yet subtly declaring this tonearm’s provenance.
The uniformity of its vapour-blasted finish highlights the superb harmony, balance, and linkage between Arko’s components, and across their boundaries.
Summary
Linn’s conspicuous efforts to simplify tonearm construction — with a reduction in total parts spanning from headshell to operating housing — result in improved rigidity, more fluid motion, and greater bearing stability and concentricity.
These qualities, together with the unparalleled material synergy achieved by specifying 7075-grade aluminium throughout, make Arko a fundamentally simple tonearm — though rigorously refined. Arko is effortful simplicity.
Kendo
Design
Kendo is the outcome of the Linn engineers’ efforts to capitalise on the elements of Ekstatik which work so well; using their tried-and-true, trickle-down development methodology to produce a more affordable, high-performance cartridge which retains the same core design principles and acoustic fingerprint.
It is one of a new breed of cartridges which produce the most level frequency response of any to ever bear the Linn name. It’s not overly warm in bass, nor is it harsh in highs; its presentation is neutral, balanced, and uncoloured.
Construction
Kendo has a nickel-coated 7075 aluminium body. This specific grade of aluminium matches that of our Arko tonearm, for which Kendo was designed to be the perfect partner. This facilitates superb material synergy throughout the tonearm system, and effectively banishes unwanted resonances away from the delicate generator, along the arm, and out through the sub-chassis. Crucial to its high performance, Kendo features aluminium-bronze threaded inserts. Aluminiumbronze is often selected by bell foundries due to its desirable resonance behaviour. In Kendo, this alloy helps to convey much of the subtle warmth of vinyl playback, and levels its balance beautifully between crisp presentation and musical performance.
Selekt LP12
Selekt LP12 is a turntable from which to live out your musical passion and, with the benefit of future upgrades, to continue to explore ever more of the music contained within the grooves of your record collection.
A Linn-curated package comprising elite performance Sondek LP12 components, Selekt LP12 sits in their range between Majik LP12 – the gateway to high-fidelity vinyl playback — and Klimax LP12 – the zero-compromise pinnacle of Linn’s endeavour.
It follows in the footsteps of its digital counterpart – Selekt DSM – both in its arresting musicality and its unbounded upgradeability.
Selekt LP12 is decked out with a full complement of Linn-engineered components:
Arko, Kendo, Lingo, Kore, Karousel and Trampolin
Majik LP12 MM/MC, Krane & Koil
Krane debuted in early 2020; and has been included with every new Majik LP12 shipped since.
Today, Linn announce that this adept tonearm is now available to order as a standalone component for the very first time.
This static-balanced design tonearm is hand-assembled with high-quality aluminium and stainless-steel components. It features a polished tungsten and sapphire vertical bearing, with a dual ceramic horizontal bearing assembly, both of which provide very low friction and rotational mass.
Koil is a superb, new Majik-level cartridge; a formidable first step onto the ladder of premium moving coil models. It offers a step up in performance from Linn’s moving magnet Adikt – either as an upgrade for existing Majik or legacy Sondek LP12 owners, or fitted as standard to a newly purchased Majik LP12 MC.
There are now two Majik LP12 variants to choose from:
Majik LP12 MM is a new designation to describe the existing Majik specification, featuring Adikt moving magnet cartridge.
Majik LP12 MC is an alternative model which features Linn’s new Koil moving coil cartridge.
Both Majik LP12 variants feature:
Krane, Majik LP12 Power Supply, Majik Sub-chassis, Karousel and Solid Base
Pricing (excl. tax)
Arko Tonearm €3,000
Kendo MC Cartridge €2,800
Selekt LP12 €10,625
Krane Tonearm €1,350
Koil MC Cartridge €800
Majik LP12 MC €3,663
