Linn Sondek LP12 - Cartridge recommendation

I had an SME III tonearm on one of my Linn tables long time ago. These tonearmes were made for the Shure V15 and similar cartridges. When I had this combo, I used a Goldring 1042 moving magnet. It sounded pretty good and I thought a good match. This would be my recommendation to you. While an ARO as the suggestion above is great (that is my current arm), it is also mucho bucks over the cartrdige upgrade. Look at the Shure if you can find one, or the Goldring. I think you will be happy with the sound.

Hi there,
owning rather a lot of Linns, six at last count, I would tend to agree you will never get the best from it with an SME, especially the 3 which was not their best.
For the $325 mentioned to retip, I personally would sell the SME. The funds from this + the $325 would buy a Rega arm
or used Akito and still leave you money for a decent cartridge. IMO the catridge on a Linn is less important than the arm.
Regards Si

I agree with the above posts. I had an LP 12 for a number of years and I would stick with one of the Linn arms. Everything I read at the time suggests the SME is a poor match for that table. It is too heavy to obtain the proper adjustment of the sprung suspension.

Hello: I can report that unshielded cartridge's like Grados do not work well on Linn's and Rega's.

Thanks a lot everyone...really appreciate it.

Maybe, I should just wait until an LP12 configured with the right tonearm/cartridge comes along instead of having to go thru all the trouble of reconfiguring this one. I am actually suppose to pick-up the turntable this weekend...the seller does not live very far and he did tell me that its no problem if I change my mind. I would be paying $725 for this turntable. It is actually in very good condition except for the cartridge. Like I said, I am new at this hobby and now I am not sure if this turntable is a good deal after all if I have to shop for another tonearm and cartridge etc...

Thanks,
Norm