Linn Basik LV-X vs. Grace 707

I had a 707 on a Thorens TD-160...I still miss that rig. Great tonearm.

Grace, every time.. Linn Basik LV-X is a nice arm, but the Grace is so much sweeter. I use a 747 and love it.

I had a 707 on a Thorens TD-160 Super. Nice arm, very easy to use, but very light-weight. You have to use a very light catridge - 6g or so. The counterweight didn't go far enough back to take anything heavier, at least not if I wanted to be able to close the dust cover. I have seen ring weights that can be added but they're not very common. You also need a high compliance cartridge. I was using a Shure M97xe which I liked. Don't have any experience with the Linn.

The Grace 707 is better but you need to match it with a high compliance cartridge. I had a 707 mk1 a long time ago and I still have a mk2 and a 747.

I have experience with both (on an LP12), and much prefer the Linn . . . I think the manufacturing quality is better, and it's less fiddly to set up. The Grace's the anti-skating, with both fishing-line AND a pivot/weight thingey, mounted to a separate collar clamp that can move any which way sideways, up or down, (and affects the cueing as you adjust it) . . . really annoying.

But they're really apples and oranges as far as the sound, because they have their optimum performance with different types of cartridges. If you're using a high-compliance MM cartridge (i.e. Ortofon 2M or something) the Grace is a better choice, but for lower-compliance MMs and most MCs, the Linn will work better.