In order to make their best cartridge ever, Linn needed to look further afield, and at more varied materials. They conducted extensive experiments; auditioning different materials and configurations for the body, inserts, cantilever, suspension, windings and leads. The result is Ekstatik – the new jewel in the crown of the Linn cartridge range.
In their search for ever better materials, Linn’s experiments led them to the implementation of aluminium-bronze inserts. Now a feature of Ekstatik, these inserts allow us to reap the sonic benefits we found this alloy to possess.
With a bespoke, honeycomb cut into the cartridge body, Linn have skeletonised Ekstatik so that overall mass is reduced to their preferred sweet spot of close to 7g.
A micro-ridge stylus on a sapphire cantilever makes for an extraordinarily responsive cartridge. The sapphire cantilever is far stiffer than boron or aluminium, resulting in less loss between the stylus and the generator.
The overall result is an agile, responsive cartridge with the added performance yielded from specifying these materials; masterfully matched in unique configurations.