Troika

About the Troika

The Linn Troika is a moving coil (MC) phono cartridge introduced by Linn Products, designed to deliver a musically satisfying and detailed sound. It features a high-quality nude Vital stylus mounted on a short aluminum cantilever, with a motor identical to the Linn Karma cartridge. The Troika is noted for balancing analytical detail retrieval with musical structure preservation, offering a forward upper-midrange presentation without excessive shrillness. It is optimized for use with the Linn Ittok tonearm due to its unique mounting system requiring a third bolt and specific headshell modifications. The cartridge has an output voltage of 100 microvolts, a compliance of 10 cu, and a recommended load impedance nominally around 470 ohms but greater than 10 ohms. It tracks best with a tracking weight between 1.5 and 1.7 grams and has a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz ±1 dB. The Troika weighs approximately 7 grams and has a channel separation of about 30 dB at 1 kHz. It is praised for its excellent sound staging and tonal balance, making it a world-class cartridge especially when paired with the Ittok tonearm and Sondek LP12 turntable.