Linn’s cartridges, Adikt to Ekstatik

The cartridge is the only part of an LP12 that wears out on a schedule, and the only one most owners replace more than once. Linn makes five for the deck, one moving magnet and four moving coils, and because each was designed on an LP12 for a Linn arm, they are the ones we fit most. Here is the range from the bottom up, and the two questions that come with it: how long does a stylus last, and which cartridge belongs on which arm.

Cartridge	Type	Price	Where it belongs
Adikt	Moving magnet	$923	The Majik LP12 MM; any Krane, Akito or Ittok; any moving-magnet phono input
Koil	Moving coil	$1,250	The Majik LP12 MC; the first step into moving coil on a Krane, Akito or Ekos
Krystal	Moving coil	$2,415	Arko, Ekos or Ekos SE on a deck with a Lingo or better
Kendo	Moving coil	$4,370	The Selekt LP12’s cartridge; Arko or Ekos SE, Kore or Keel SE
Ekstatik	Moving coil	$8,335	The Klimax LP12’s cartridge; Ekos SE on a Keel SE and Radikal

The five, briefly

Adikt. Linn’s moving magnet, and the one we fit to more older decks than any other. It has one quality none of the others share: its stylus assembly clicks off and a new one clicks on, so when it wears, a $427 replacement stylus makes it a new cartridge again for less than half the price, with no realignment to speak of. For an owner who wants to keep an LP12 simple, that matters.

Koil. Introduced in 2022 as the entry to Linn’s moving coils and the cartridge of the Majik LP12 MC. It is why we sell more Majik MC decks than MM: the step from Adikt to Koil is the clearest $200 in the catalog.

Krystal. The middle of the range, and the cartridge that turned many 1990s decks with an Ekos into something close to current. It wants an arm and a sub-chassis good enough to show what it does, which in practice means a Lingo-level deck or better.

Kendo. Arrived in 2022 alongside the Arko tonearm, with a body machined from the same 7075 aluminum and finished to match. It is the Selekt LP12’s cartridge and the one we recommend to an owner moving from a Kandid or Krystal who is not ready for the Ekstatik.

Ekstatik. Linn’s reference since late 2021, a skeletonized body of about seven grams with aluminum-bronze inserts where mass is wanted. It belongs on a Klimax-level deck, and on one it is the cartridge against which the others are judged.

How long a stylus lasts

Linn’s rule of thumb is roughly 2,000 hours of play before a stylus should be looked at. An hour a day gets through that in six years; a deck played on weekends takes longer. A worn stylus does not announce itself; the top end dulls, sibilants get harsh, inner grooves distort, and because it happens slowly the owner adapts. It is also the one fault on a turntable that damages records, so a stylus past its time is worth replacing before anything else is spent on the deck. We check stylus wear under magnification as part of every service and will tell you plainly what we see.

A moving coil cannot have its stylus swapped at home; when one wears, Linn offers an allowance on it against a new one, which is how most of our Krystal and Kendo owners move up a step every several years. The Adikt is the exception, as above.

Which cartridge, which arm

A cartridge should be the last part of a deck to be chosen, because what it can do is set by what carries it. On a Majik LP12 the Adikt and Koil are the right pair. On a deck with a Lingo and an Arko or Ekos, the Koil is the floor and the Krystal the natural choice. A Kore or Keel SE under an Arko or Ekos SE justifies the Kendo. The Ekstatik is for the deck that has everything else. Putting an Ekstatik on a Majik deck is not wrong, but most of what you paid for will be waiting for the parts beneath it, and that is the order Linn suggests too: source first, bearing, supply and sub-chassis before the cartridge.

Start with a call

Every cartridge we sell is fitted and aligned here, and the suspension set again afterward, because the weight on the arm changes the balance of the whole deck. Tell us what is on your deck and how many hours it has, and we can say whether it is due and which replacement fits. Call (503) 222-2599 or write to sales@pearlaudio.com.

— John Loranger, Pearl Audio

See also: Why the Majik LP12 is the best way to buy a Sondek · Bringing an older LP12 up to date · How often does an LP12 need a service, and how to tell.