Linn Kendo Moving Coil Cartridge

Linn Kendo Moving Coil Cartridge

The Linn Kendo is a high-performance moving coil cartridge designed for serious vinyl playback — one that takes material choices and engineering precision seriously enough that every component decision is made in service of getting more music from the groove.

The Body

The Kendo's body is machined from nickel-coated 7075-grade aluminium — the same grade used in the Linn Arko tonearm. That material synergy is designed to banish unwanted resonances away from the generator and out through the sub-chassis. It is a detail that reveals how carefully the Kendo has been conceived as part of a complete LP12 system rather than as a standalone component.

Generator and Stylus

At the heart of the Kendo is a square armature wound with 4N copper coil wire — high-purity copper chosen for the quality of the signal it passes. The cantilever is boron: low mass and high stiffness, two properties that allow it to track the stylus with precision at the groove without adding its own movement to what the generator reads. The stylus itself is a Super Fine Line profile, shaped to trace the fine detail in the groove wall with accuracy. The generator connects to the tonearm via 1.2mm gold pins at three mounting points, with aluminium-bronze threaded inserts providing a secure, sonically beneficial attachment to the headshell.

Technical Specifications

Who Is It For?

The Kendo is for LP12 owners who are ready to take their analogue front end seriously — whether upgrading from a lower-specification cartridge or specifying a new build around the Linn Arko tonearm. It suits those who want a cartridge engineered with the same material logic as the rest of the Linn system, rather than a generic fitment.

Buying from Martins Hi-Fi

Martins Hi-Fi has been in Norwich since 1968. Elizabeth Gould runs the business today, and we stock only brands we have heard properly and stand behind.

The Kendo can be demonstrated on an LP12 at our Norwich showroom — ideally alongside the tonearm and phono stage it will be partnered with, so you can hear the system as a whole. When you get in touch, you'll be speaking with Dave and Chris — experienced specialists who can advise on this product and your whole system.

Contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk, call 01603 627010, or WhatsApp on 07554 687137. You can read more about how we work on our Why Martins Hi-Fi page. We are at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.

Also from Linn: Linn 343.