Akito 3b vs Ekos 2

[mbabst]

Hi

I need to replace my Akito 1. It's really hard to find a used Ekos 2 in good condition however I got a good offer for an ex-demo Akito 3b including T-cable (990 Euro). Would you take the plunge? Is it on a par with a good used Ekos 2?

Rest of my deck is Akurate Radikal, Karousel, Kore and Adikt and I'm using the Lejonklou Slipsik 7 preamp.

 

[Mr Kandid]

No Akito is anywhere near as good as any Ekos.
Sorry but…….

 

[mbabst]

Thank you, looks like I'll have to keep searching...

 

[Matteo]

Hi

I need to replace my Akito 1. It's really hard to find a used Ekos 2 in good condition however I got a good offer for an ex-demo Akito 3b including T-cable (990 Euro). Would you take the plunge? Is it on a par with a good used Ekos 2?

Rest of my deck is Akurate Radikal, Karousel, Kore and Adikt and I'm using the Lejonklou Slipsik 7 preamp.

I have an LP12 identical to yours with an Akito 3b.
It's a good arm, clearly better than the previous Akito 1.
The grey T-Kable (now included in the Akito 3b) is better than the black T-Kable to my ears.

M.

 

[sktn77a]

It's an OK arm. But a better arm at a lower price would be a well cared for Ittok.

 

[Wenge1]

I guess in practical terms it depends on how long your prepared to wait it out. As Mr Kandid says above there is not really any contest between any Ekos and any Akito IMHO.

 

[hiffle]

As a newbie to all things LP12, is there a list of Good Better Best Linn arms anywhere?

TIA

 

[Wenge1]

As a newbie to all things LP12, is there a list of Good Better Best Linn arms anywhere?

TIA

If you hang fire, there are some very knowledgeable people on here who will give you a good steer on this. I could give a reasonable stab at it but I'm not so familiar with the older Linn arms that have been discontinued but can still be found on the second-hand market.

 

[sktn77a]

Prevailing consensus would suggest LVxx < Akito < Ittok < Ekos 1/2 < Ekos SE. Of course, any used arm is very dependent on condition. I would add that I have never heard the Ekos SE or Ekos SE/1 but I am pretty confident in the ranking it has received on this and other fora/magazine reviews.

 

[hiffle]

Many thanks @sktn77a ; just for clarification does an "Ittok LV II" (with a red dot) fall in to the first or third bracket?

EDITED TO ADD: Come to think about it, what does "LV II" mean (other than a roman numeral)?

 

[petecallaghan]

EDITED TO ADD: Come to think about it, what does "LV II" mean (other than a roman numeral)?

I think I read somewhere that the LV stood for Las Vegas. However I haven't been able to dig up the post and can't even remember which forum I saw it on.

Aha: found it here: https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/th...its-heading-north-of-1000.97957/#post-1988341

 

[Mr Kandid]

Many thanks @sktn77a ; just for clarification does an "Ittok LV II" (with a red dot) fall in to the first or third bracket?

EDITED TO ADD: Come to think about it, what does "LV II" mean (other than a roman numeral)?

Hi
All Ittok arms had red dots only the first Ekos and the second variation had a dot theme red for first and white for the second.
Some Ittok arms were available in black but in rather small quantities.

 

[StellanH]

The latest Akito 3b should miles better than your 1, also includes the grey T-kable which many prefer to the current black one. Ekos is another level, but also the cost.

 

[sktn77a]

Sorry, for clarification, the Ittok LV II was the original Ittok. The LV III came towards the end of its run and was supposedly a little better than the LV II but not as good as the Ekos. The rankings didn't change by virtue of this, though.

 

[akamatsu]

Sorry, for clarification, the Ittok LV II was the original Ittok. The LV III came towards the end of its run and was supposedly a little better than the LV II but not as good as the Ekos. The rankings didn't change by virtue of this, though.

There were two versions of the Ittok LVIII; Mk1 looked like the LVII, Mk2 looked like the Ekos.

 

[Moomintroll]

There were two versions of the Ittok LVIII; Mk1 looked like the LVII, Mk2 looked like the Ekos.

From memory, the last iteration of the LVIII was really good. I used one whilst my Ekos was being upgraded to Ekos 2.

’troll

 

[JBC]

Akito 3 and 2B are quite a bit better than Akito 1. I listened to an LP12 with a new Akito 2B and T-Kable versus a used Ittok (older one, with cheap cable) and it was pretty close. Ittok is lively (maybe to a fault) and the Akito is smoother (but with a bit less detail). I ended up going with the Akito.

Moving up a step, there's a big step to the Ekos, and surprising (to me at least) I heard an even bigger difference between an Ekos 2 and an Ekos SE, with the SE being a significant forward step in natural detail retrieval.

With that said, I don't think I'd swap an Akito for another Akito. I'd hold off for an Ekos. Haven't heard the Arko, but it's pretty darn close in price to the Ekos SE.

 

[akamatsu]

From memory, the last iteration of the LVIII was really good. I used one whilst my Ekos was being upgraded to Ekos 2.

’troll

I think that the Ekos 1 was the same design as the Ittok LVIII/mk2. It was simply renamed Ekos when production moved to Écosse. I would occasionally refer to the Ittok LVIII/2 as "Japon."

 

[sktn77a]

The Ittok LV III/1 was marginally improved but visually identical to the LV II. The LV III/2 was the same arm with the integrated arm clip/bias control from the later Ekos. The bearings and races on the Ekos were supposedly much better tolerance than the prior generation Ittoks.

 

[ThomasOK]

Ranking:
Basik LV-V
Basik LV-X (much different and better arm)
Basik Plus (similar but better due to fixed headshell)
Akito 1 (better musically but subject to bearing problems over time)
Akito 2 (much better, built in Scotland)
Akito 3 (much better yet with machined from solid bearing yoke parts, improved, near Ekos level, bearings)
Ittok LVII (I would say that it and the Akito 3 are in about the same league, both are quite good)
Ittok LVIII (improvements to attachment of headshell to arm tube and tube to bearing assembly, other improvements)
Ittok LVIII mk2 (Improvements to bearings and new cueing/arm rest/anti-skating platform. Very nice arm often referred to as the baby Ekos)
Ekos 1 (Some have had problems with the tracking force dial grease solidifying and making it difficult or impossible to to turn. A few units have had bearing problems.)
Ekos 2 (Improved bearings and attachment of the parts to each other. A very good arm. Only units with a serial number of 9000 and higher are still repairable by Linn.)
Ekos SE (Complete redesign of Ekos 2 with the cueing device and cartridge wires being the only shared parts. Much improved horizontal bearing system, improved vertical bearings, improved materials: machined from aluminum billet headshell, titanium arm tube, stainless steel bearing structure. Excellent arm.)
Ekos SE/1 (Updated SE with longer and strengthened headshell to accommodate larger cartridges and shorter arm tube to compensate. Stated to not be a musical improvement but many, myself included, have found the musical improvement significant and worthwhile. The best arm I have heard.)

Not being able to compare the new Arko to the older arms above I'm not sure exactly where it slots in. I would expect it is likely better than any Ittok but would personally be surprised if it could outperform an Ekos 2 musically. But I could be wrong.

Note that arms before the Ekos 2 #9000 and the Akito before serial number 103413 will not be serviced by Linn. That includes all the Ittoks but in my experience they fail less than any of the other arms besides Ekos 2 and SEs. Black Ittoks were just a finish variation but of the few Ittoks I have seen that were bad Black ones have been prevalent - but it is still a tiny amount. I also find the Akito arm cable (which was the original T.Kable) to be the most musical arm cable.