Graham, Naim Aro, or Linn arms?


On a Linn LP12 which do YOU prefer?
chashmal
i have had all mentioned arms on my lp 12....and to me the naim aro is the best tracking out of all them, just more musical then the rest ...aro and lp-12 is the perfect combo.
I am leaning to the aro.
I currently have a used Rega 300 arm which I got really cheap. I also have a Lyra Dorian cartridge, and I really like it. It took almost 100 hours to really break in. I intend on moving up the Lyra line, but with a new arm.
I had the Linn Basik arm and it was horrible, and eventually broke. It was completely lifeless with the Linn K-9. I am not a fan of Linn in general, but I absolutely love my LP12 (vintage 1989) with a lingo and will stick with it.
If anybody knows, what does an aro run these days?
I haven't heard direct comparisons, but, I've heard the LP12 with the Itok and with a Aro. I was surprised how lively and dramatic the sound of an LP12/Ara/Transfiguration Phoenix combination that I heard. A bunch of friends briefly (about 2 hours) listened to this combination in a system with Hovland HP200 preamp, Hovland Radia amp and Sonus Faber Anniversarios. This combination was MUCH more lively than the system owner's regular rig (Basis 2500/Graham Phantom/Transfiguration Orpheus). Overall, the system is on the darker side, so, to me, the extra life of the Linn/Aro combination sounded good. With only two hours of listening, I have no way of knowing if the extra liveliness would eventually become taxing in the long run, but, from what I heard, this combination seems to be quite a lot of fun.
I've had a Naim Aro on my LP-12 (mated to an Ortofon Jubilee cartridge) since 2001. Sublime combo.

One small caveat on the Aro: unless Naim has changed things since 2001, it does *not* come with a cueing device, so unless you add your own, you will have to manually lower and raise the arm. I was able to buy a (no longer made) Naim Aromatic cuing device when I bought my arm. It's not without its foibles, but it beats manual engagement of the arm.
I purchased a Naim Aro tonearm for my LP12 and have never been happier. It replaced a Linn Ekos. You need to have a steady hand cuing it since its unipivot design requires it. However, the sound is awesome. Since then, I've also replaced the Lingo power supply with a Naim Armeggedon, which also demonstrated dramatic improvements to the sound. Good luck!