Most suitable tone arm for linn sondek LP12

I had 2 Sondek 12's and I liked them, but they sounded about the same as my Rega RP3 and are much more hassle. Every 2 years you need to put new springs in and it's hard todo without a jig, although it can be done. It is not a set it and forget it item, and costs lots of money to upgrade. upgrading the bearing, and getting a keel are two things that don't make a bit of difference in sound. It makes me wonder about other things too. I really like some Linn products, but their marketing outperforms their products. Been there done that. It was fun, but overly costly.

Not sure about the rebadged Rega (Moth 1000) that Stanwal mentioned above, but some of the rebadged Rega arms to not have the same cable and counterwieghts as the Rega badged arms. Be sure to take that into account when comparing prices.

I am very excited to have an Audiomods arm on its way to me. They get great reviews and will be the same geometry as the OL arm you currently have, so no need for a new armboard, etc. Can't speak directly to whether or not it would be an upgrade though. 6moons reviews the Series V, and there are a number of rave reviews of the earlier models that you can easily Google.

Have heard a couple friends systems many times that have fully tricked out LP12 w/ Naim ARO. No question that arm sounds great. Very transparent and detailed. My LP12 is modified with Origin Live DC motor (good upgrade from Valhalla) and has RB 300 arm recently modified with Mitchell counterweight, Incognito wire and Wriggle VTA adjustor. These arm mods made a very big and IMO well worthwhile improvement, though probably not all the way to the transparency of an ARO.

I had an Ittok, then Origin Liver Silver taper on my LP12, both were excellent, the OL possibly a tad better. There is a lot of mystery and folk lore about the LP12. Tradition was that the only arm not really suited, was the basic versions of the Rega RB300. Upgraded versions, that include origin live and and the RB 1000, are'nt a problem.

I would have thought your OL would be a good choice and anything else would be mainly a sideways move. The 2 classic top flight arms are the Ekos and Aro and I am sure they are excellent too. The best value choice, might be a second hand Ittok. They do come up now and then, particularly over here in the UK.

No Syntax; there is no such thing as "knowledge" about which gear you prefer. Some like electrostatics, some horns, some cones: which are "wrong"? Some like tubes, some solid state; what "knowledge" should we use to determine who is "right"? Turntables do not all sound the same; of course some are not very good but among the good ones there is considerable variation in sound. Actually you are correct in one respect , the "best" sound FOR YOU is the sound you like the best. I get a laugh out of the constant "what is the best ---- on the market" questions on here. The secret in audio is TO KNOW YOUR OWN TASTE ; we all want accurate sound reproduction but we also all have different ears. When I am acting as a dealer I always thought my job was to help a client discover the kind of sound he wanted; not simply tell them what they ought to like. Just because I like one component better than another does not mean that everyone does or should; right now I have 2 of the "best" phono stages on the market; they do not sound alike though both are very good and I could live with either. Which is the "better" one; I will bet that the vote would be about 50-50.