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Unlike the Urika, which a fixed impedance and capacitance tailored for Linn cartridges.
’troll
- May 20, 2014
- 3,244
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- HiFi Trade?
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Well, it was/is part of a system - the Klimax LP12 - and intended for use with the Kandid and, possibly, it’s predecessor the Akiva. I suspect their reasoning is that the necessary switching would be a compromise and, being inside the turntable, would be tricky for some owners to access. For those wanting adjustability, they produced the Uphorik.
The Urika’s predecessor, the Linto, had no adjustability other than to be able to reduce the gain. by 10dB IIRC. Even then, that was an internal link to be cut.
’troll
Thanks for your comments Moomintroll. I happen to have the Urika2 and I am relieved that it has selectable impedance and capacitance but I am confused as to why the Urika2 would be provided with such selectable switching after refusing to provide it for the Urika. I will be checking further into the selectability provided to see if compatibility is provided for Ortofon cartridges. I don't see how Linn gains by denying its clients access to what I consider to be higher quality moving coil cartridges e.g Koetsu.
Interesting point, but I can’t imagine many who are wedded to Linn systems tend to look beyond, not least because dealers who carry viable alternatives are scarce indeed.
When I heard Ortofon’s top Windfield MC a few years ago they themselves used their own transformer and a high end Pro-ject phono stage.
Linn made phono stages in the LK1 and Kairn and in the MC only Linto (their first reference external phono stage) and Urika with a fixed loading because the goal was to minimize any signal loss from the MC cartridge. All of them featured short signal paths with as few connections as possible at the time. The input of the phono stage is the worst place to put a switch, as the signal from an MC cartridge is very, very small, but that is where the loading occurs. So you choose to make a phono stage that has fixed loading and reduces the number of cartridges it works with (Koetsus work fine with the Urika 1, by the way) so as to preserve the maximum amount of the musical signal or you choose to allow for variable loading through switched resistors and capacitors and compromise the musical signal.
There is a third way, as is used in the Lejonklou SINGularity, which gives the ability to test a bunch of resistances (in this case 13) for on your cartridge and then the switching bank is disconnected and the optimum resistor is soldered into place. There is a downside to this convenience which is that the switches are inside the case and the resistor (13 matching units of which are provided) has to be soldered in with great care. At this time that means by Fredrik Lejonklou or one of his distributors. However, as the SINGularities are built to order you can specify any desired resistance if you know what will work best (or if you have a cartridge that has already been tested for best resistance, which include Linn MC cartridges except the Koil and Koetsus). The Uphorik was designed to be used similarly with the switches allowing you to test different settings. When you found the best one your dealer would solder pad(s) that create a permanent connection, bypassing the switch. However, I haven't heard of them being used that way so my guess is that most often the signal is going through the switches. With the Urika the switching is still connecting different resistors, or combinations of resistors, but is done by means of relays. So they are using switches that are not designed to be bypassed with soldered pads and will remain in the signal path. An indication of a change in philosophy over time.
As an aside, Ortofon recommend 50-500 Ohms for a couple of the Cadenza models, 50-200 for a couple others and >10 Ohms for the Black. The Urika 1 is 75 Ohms combined with 10nF so it should work well with any of those based on their recommendations. I didn't check any of the other Ortofons. There are a fair number of cartridges that work well with that loading including Lyras, Koetsus and others. That said it won't be absolutely optimal but there are no phono stages, even ones as adjustable as the SINGularity or Uphorik, that can be set absolutely optimally for ANY MC cartridge - there are just too many different ways MCs are made with widely varying outputs and internal resistances. It is one reason some swear by transformers for optimal loading, but then the transformer has to be designed for the specific cartridge it will be used with for that optimal performance, necessitating a transformer change if you change cartridge brand, and sometimes even model.
I asked Ortofon about using their flagship cartridges with a Klimax level LP12. This is part of their response "Please see the selection of cartridges we recommend for KLIMAX LP12 on our Replacement cartridges selector here https://www.ortofon.com/hifi/?categoryId=1029&subCategoryId=3518 : MC Quintet Bronze and Quintet Black S, MC Cadenza Red and Cadenza Blue are recommended. I would not go higher that that. MC Diamond is our absolute High-End model, that requires more sophisticated and higher-end turntable model to obtain best possible performance of both components"
I wonder what their definitions of "sophisticated" and "higher- end" are.
Ouch, that’s a bit damning, isn’t it? If I remember correctly, at the Ortofon ‘roadshow’ I attended they used a Signature 10. Aside from anything else, I recall the unipivot type arm, and the surprising ease with which the demo guy used it. I must say it sounded stunning, and with Cadenza Black and beyond, much like a master tape.
https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/signature-10/
Ignore their "recommendations". They have the same 4 cartridges for every Linn arm from the old LVV to the SE (Klimax).
99% of us have Linn Kartridges anyway. The other 1-3% - Lyra, ATs, Dynavectors (what else am I missing? a stray Koetsu? and those are often on Aros...) I don't remember anyone using a Lyra Atlas or Dynavector XV-1t - usually the Delos, Kleos or XX-2, etc. However, don't the Linn police arrest you if you violate the "hierarchy" and want to put a 10k cartridge on a 5k arm ? Of course Linn now sells a 7k one for the Ekos...
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I of course was disappointed in those remarks but I think Ortofon do not understand the Klimax LP12 concept. I note that lower level cartridges are recommended for the Klimax LP12 but for the Ekos SE the full Cadenza range is recommended which includes the Bronze and Black Cadenzas; for the Ekos 2 the recommendations extend to the Blue level Cadenza only. My understanding is that the Ekos range of tonearms are regarded as Klimax level. I think Linn PR should sort this out with Ortofon.
If Ortofon would care to lend me a Cadenza Black and a Sig 10 then I would happily mountt them up on my Ekos 2 - do the listening - and report whether the Signature 10 offered an audible improvement over the Black! I obviously sit firmly in the 1% segment as there are three LP12s here and not a Linn Kartridge in sight! (Which is why I use a Uphorik).
I don't think we should take the Ortofon comment any more seriously than we do the (old) Linn comment that record cleaners are harmful and we should let the stylus pick up the debris.
Sometimes knucklehead ideas slip past the adults and seem to represent the company, when they don't.
Sometimes knucklehead ideas slip past the adults and seem to represent the company, when they don't.
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