Linn Ittok LV-II

 The Linn Ittok LV-II arm has been designed to compliment the Linn LP12 turntable. The design philosophies first implimented in the turntable; i.e., providing a means of maintaining a fixed relationship between the cartridge body and the surface of the record, have been extended to the design of the LV-II. Through the use of sensible construction techniques and very precise bearings, the Linn arm provides a very rigid connecting link between the cartridge body and the turntable.

 The Linn Itokk LV-II was designed with several performance features in mind.  First, stability. It is a coherent mechanical system designed to maintain a precise relationship between the cartridge and turntable. This is due in part to a bearing system that minimises intermittent or continuous loss of dynamic accuracy.  Second, simplicity. Dials for both tracking weight and bias force enable easy and highly accurate adjustment, making the Ittok simple to install and convenient to use.

The Ittok is particularly suitable for use with the Linn Asak DC-2100K moving-coil cartridge and enables the full performance potential of this cartridge to be realised.

The Ittok is designed not to degrade with use or require continuous adjustment. In addition it is engineered to cope with the most difficult cartridges now available and to anticipate future cartridge development.

Although designed with the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable in mind, the Ittok is suitable for use with most high quality turntables.  

 Headshell

The headshell is constructed of light weight magnesium alloy. In order to obtain the most rigid connection possible between the headshell and the arm tube, the headshell is permanently fixed to the arm tube. As you can appreciate, any method of attaching the headshell that would still allow it to be rotated would necessitate a weakening of this connection.  We do realize that this doeas limit the amount of "fine tuning" of the vertical tracking angle that you can accomplish; i.e., as you raise or lower the rear of the arm, the headshell, as viewed from the front, will no longer be parallel to the record. It is possible tp make very small changes in VTA and, in most cases, the adjustment range should be satisfactory. The relatively small gains that can be obtained by making larger adjustments to the vertical tracking angle are insignificant when compared to the degradation of the signal that would occur if the tortional rigidity of the arm was compromised. It should also be noted that the optimum VTA varies from record to record, so any VTA setting will have to be , at best , a compromise.

 Arm Tube

The arm tube is constructed of large diameter, thinwall, magnesium tubing. It should be noted that while a small diameter tube is often used to give the appearance of low mass, a large diameter tube with thin walls aill actually require less mass for the same degree of rigidity.

Bearings

The bearings , bearing housings, arm pillar, and all related parts are constructed of high grade stainless steel. Being of identical materials, all have the same coefficient of expansion. Thus, the arm is temperature stable; i.e., changes in room temperature effect all parts equally. The finely adjusted bearings will maintain proper tolerances over a very wide range of operating temperatures.

 Counterweight

The counterweight consists of two pieces, the main weight and a smaller ring that is attached with two hex key set screws. The ring should be used if a heavy cartridge is to be mounted in the arm. Lighter cartridges require only the main part of the weight. The mass of the weight was specifically chosen to allow the counterweight (with ring) to be positioned as close to the pivot point as possible when the arm is fitted with the Linn Asak Moving-Coil Cartridge.

The counterweight is used only to balance the arm, never to apply tracking force. Because of this, the arm is always dynamically balanced and any disturbances that reach the arm will tend to affect both the rear portion of the arm and the front portion of arm equally thus minimizing their effect.

 Tracking Force and Anti-Skate

To prevent disturbing the dynamic balance of the arm, tracking force and anti-skating compensation are applied by springs which are controlled by two calibrated adjustment knobs. Tracking force may be applied over the range 0 to 3 grams.

Height Adjustment

The height locking screw consist of two basic parts. The first is a steel shaft that will, when fully tightened, rigidly lock the arm in place. This rigid connection can be accomplished with only one locking screw because of the unique half moon notch cut out of the arm base. When the locking screw is tightened, you are in effect rigidly attaching the arm pillar to the base at three points, the locking screw, and each end of the notch.

The second part of the height locking screw consists of a spring loaded nylon washer. When the height locking screw is only slightly tightened, the washer aill hold the arm in position while still allowing you to adjust the arm height. This greatly simplifies the height adjustment procedure.

Specifications

Overal Length:  284 mm

Effective Length:  229 mm

Overhang:  18 mm

Tone-arm rear length:  50 mm

Friction:  less than 20 mg.

Effective Mass:  11,5 g

Cartridge Weight Range:

With Main Weight only :  2 - 10 g

With Main Weight plus Sub Weight :  5,5 - 15 g

Stylus Pressure Range:  0 -3 g in 0,1 g steps