The geometry remains the same, the aluminum-alloy headshell being shorter, but this is now machined from solid for maximum strength rather than being cast. The arm-tube remains the same thin-wall, wide-bore aluminum design, but is about 8mm longer than that of the Ittok. The same audiophiles had also pointed the finger at the lift/lower device this remains, but is now damped in both directions, and its support gantry is extended along the arm axis to provide a solid clip arrangement similar to that used by the SME V. The most obvious external difference is the absence of the separate arm clip on the tonearm board, which some UK audiophiles had long proclaimed to be a source of coloration. Whereas the Ittok is manufactured in Japan to Linn's specification, with only final quality control taking place in Linn Products' Glasgow headquarters, the Ekos is manufactured and assembled in Scotland, the only Japan-sourced item being the lift/lower device. The arm-base even uses the same three-bolt mounting arrangement, but the arm is otherwise almost totally different. The $1995 Ekos (so christened after the French name for Scotland, Ecosse-ha!) is considerably more expensive than the Ittok LVII ($965) superficially, it resembles the black version of the Ittok that was available for a while by special order. In fact, its only sonic weakness, in my opinion, is a rather forward quality to the upper midrange compared with the above tonearms. Its effective mass is pretty much optimal, giving a good interface with any medium-compliance, average-mass cartridge, the LF resonance being placed in the appropriate part of the infrasonic spectrum. Setting it up is a breeze-its begetters foresaw all the problems arm installers meet and designed the solutions in. So how about the Ittok? Mechanically, it mates perfectly with the turntable, as is to be expected. That leaves none of the most neutral tonearms. And at $3200, the Airtangent is financially out of reach, though Martin Colloms tells me that it does interface well with the Sondek. As implied above, the ET2's bass is too ill-defined for my tastes. Using the Rega on the Linn is for masochists and set-up fetishists only.
![linn ekos made by jelco linn ekos made by jelco](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2685/4678/products/Image01_a4863ef3-96fb-495f-9082-8c3178da15b5_1024x1024@2x.jpg)
The Sumiko is discontinued, and in any case was too massive for the LP12's suspension.
![linn ekos made by jelco linn ekos made by jelco](https://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/1007linn2.jpg)
(The rear of the armtube also sticks out far enough that the turntable lid can no longer be used, something that would irritate me to the point that I couldn't live with it.) The Breuer is unobtainable. Christopher Breunig has found the WTA to sound stunningly natural on the Linn, but it has insufficient low-frequency extension, in my opinion. The SME doesn't work optimally on the Linn, giving a lazy, fat-bassed sound, though the beauty of its midrange still shines through.