Question concerning cartridge for Sota Star vacuum turntable

Did you like that cart?
Or what did you now like?

When I first got the table maybe fifteen years ago it had a koetsu rosewood cartridge that neede retipping and that was done by sound smith, not original but beautiful nonetheless. I happily used that cartridge for many years until my daughters cat decided it should be replaced. A local shop suggested I try the Linn Akita and it was within my minuscule budget and it is not that I have been unhappy, far from it it is just I miss that koetsu/soundsmith combo. To complicate things I have aged as has my hearing and I now wear hearing aids. So I am in fact leaning to buying the replacement stylus, just looking for suggestions I guess. Damn I miss my youth!

For around $500 you can buy a new Hana EL moving coil cartridge. I'd take that over the Linn mm!

I assume that the Koetsu was either pitched out, or could not be serviced by SoundSmith?

The Hana, or maybe a SoundSmith cart?

I did put a Garriot Bros p77i on a SOTA at the suggestion of the fellow from St Petersburg Rus, who has not be around since the Ukrainian conflict started and the internet was difficult.

For $500 I like it, but I am not nearly as well versed in carts as say @pindac @lewm and others.

I try not to comment on comparison questions, and I’ve never owned a Linn product. Depending on the nature and degree of your hearing loss, and the quality of your new aids, I’d suggest re-retipping the Koetsu and if you did that, I’d go for the boron cantilever, since that is what Koetsu originally used. SS are not the only retipper in the world. I recently used Expert Stylus in the UK, and I’m very pleased with results.