The LP12 - where is the love?

True there are so many choices out there, and while I don't have one right now, I've always enjoyed the LP12 and would like to get the current model in for a long term review. It gets pretty personal at this point. I certainly wouldn't call you a bad Smurf for choosing an LP12.

 

Tone, hopefully if you do get an LP12 in for review, it will be a current Klimax level model.
Along with that, a great set up --and you should be in excellent shape!

 

I am too much of a cheapskate to buy or consider buying a Linn. I have read a lot about them( many musings by Art Dudley before he moved towards vintage Thorens idler wheel turntables). I appreciate their design and philosophy however. I also appreciate direct drive TTs aka the Japanese school. In some circles this is anathema of course punishable by re-education camp, banishment to the Gulag or in severe cases liquidation. But, I peacefully coexist with both belt drive and direct drive TTs( Thorens, Denon, Sansui and TEAC). I am sure that I could successfully enjoy a Linn if I acquired one. They are reportedly somewhat fiddly and finicky but that would add to the fun. They should be properly isolated as most tables and probably should be used with a Linn arm I guess.

 

I"ve owned more modern designs and always return to the Linn LP12. It just sounds "right". I think the 3 point sprung sub chassis design is still the best design. I also believe the earlier Linn decks sound the best as well, pre-Cirkis.

 

Fiddly and finicky? In what sense? Over the years I've run across similar comments, but in the almost 25 years I've had mine I have yet to figure out what this means. In that time I've had my LP12 in for a few upgrades, and beyond having my TT guy make sure everything was properly set and adjusted it's been trouble free. Once I've got it level, I have had no need to touch it again.

As far as the arm goes, there are other options. I have a Naim ARO, which was specifically designed for the Linn. But I've seen others used successfully as well, like the Rega RB300 and Alphason HR100s.

 

I wouldn't kick one out of bed.

 

I presume you live outside the UK ? Because we certainly don't live in houses more than twice the size of those in the 70's or 80's.And i would suggest that a dedicated listening room is still a luxury even in expensive homes..Maybe the LP12 is more suited to UK sized homes?

 

I second Davey's comments- a review of the Klimax LP12 is long overdue . I bet it would surprise a lot of people ... Its up to you TonePub!
ATB,
Mark

 

Not exactly where I was going with this. What I meant was that it's become a far more niche kind of thing, not typically integral to the whole family's lifestyle. Old days you'd find a record player in most living rooms. It needed to integrate. Less so today. Wasn't really meaning houses got bigger (although in the U.S. they certainly have).

 

I'll bet he likes it.

 

My LP12 is thirty next year, still love it though I was moving away form it when money was tight and I reckoned I couldn't really afford to upgrade from that original with K9 cartridge. Things changed and I was lucky enough last year to score an Ittok/Karma which had been in storage for a long long time and as good as new. Now doing all the research to upgrade a little but not excessively, Lingo and Cirkus probably. The Lingo in particular as I play a lot of 45s and am still stuck with manually changing that pulley.

Linn is pretty much a no-brainer with a long established Linn dealer half a mile up the road. I know other decks are good but with the service I get for my Linn they would not make much sense. I think I must live in the town with the highest proportion of Linn owners anywhere in the world... Scottish members would probably be able to work out just where... (And no, I do not buy into all the Linn hype/cult, heard so much of that in the past, but I love the sound it makes.)

Interestingly since the vinyl revival all the old Linns in my hometown arec oming out of attics/garages etc and being restored. Every time I go in there is another one being worked on and some of them are in real "vintage car found in garage" mode if you know what I mean...

 

Another longtime owner here. Bought my LP12/Lingo/Ittok IV in 1990! Always amusing to see the old 'finicky' comments pop up whenever LP12's are discussed. I've had mine professionally tuned up a few times, last time over 5 yrs ago. And the times I DID bring it in were for 'preventive maintenance', NOT because it drifted out of tune in any way. The time when they were troublesome was over 3 decades ago! I think the deck's 'finicky-ness' at this point is basically a myth!

 

Agreed, if the deck is set up properly in the first place it does not go off song. Unfortunately, the myth continues...
These decks have been around a long time with many trying their hand at upgrading or changing components . It is a very simple design but the fundamentals of set up must be followed in order to reach the desired outcome. If you have never worked on an LP12 best leave it in the hands of a Linn dealer.
ATB,
Mark

 

The use of locking nuts on the springs, used since the 80s, made a huge difference in regards to the deck and suspension holding it's bounce and set up for a long time. Before that, the decks often went out of adjustment and were very fiddly. The black Nirvana springs also made a huge difference in the bounce and suspension of the deck.

 

Or learn to do it yourself.

jeff

 

It's not for everyone, but it's the right table for me.

 

Mmmm - 'Bariks too? Looks like them. Actives?

 

I suspect that for me my usual strategy of swearing loudly at it or battering it with a hammer when I got too frustrated would not result in any satisfactory outcome, but that's just me.

 

Anyone with any sense would buy a more modern design for the money currently being charged. They have chosen to profit from unjustifiably expensive upgrades rather than invest serious money in going back to the drawing board. The initial design was merely a well marketed copy of Thorens /Ariston. The renewed interest in promoting this product from Linn has it's roots in the near collapse of the company a decade ago. Since then strategy has centred around streamers and expensive Lp12 improvements to generate income with them dropping multiroom product and physical optical disc players.

 

I believe that for anyone with an LP12, both the Lingo and the Cirkus upgrades should be standard. The Lingo in particular puts the turntable up into another level of performance.

 

Yes, the Lingo is pretty much a no-brainer if only for the fact that the Valhalla has a limited life anyway. I have the money for it so am not really thinking about the Chinese (?) clones. At my age it will be the last upgrade.

I've never actually heard a direct comparison but I have been surprised to read so many comments to that effect because I seem to remember reading about it when it first came out and it was not lauded to anything like the same extent, but it was a long time ago and my memory may be playing tricks on me.

 

Take your point and that's one perspective but also consider some context. First, the move up market in product and cost has been an industry-wide trend not limited to Linn. Second, they now are bringing out less costly but, by all accounts, high value modifications to the Sondek. Three, there is hardly any fully original design in any product endeavor. Hi-Fi is no different. That Thorens(original company)and Ariston are no longer with us is more about their business acumen in a competitive market than the nefarious business activities ascribed to others. And a final thought, you can spend a lot on a tricked out Sondek(overly exspensive I would agree) but you can also get an excellent version (Majik level?) for a very competitive price. Still a fine deck.

 

The problem is that even the lesser Lp12 variants are moderately to very much more expensive compared to alternatives. Due to the Linn dealer network and restrictions on competitive products it is near impossible to do direct comparisons, but I would bet Michell Orbe or Notts Hyperspace gives the fully tricked Lp12 a close call let alone the lower models from SME.

 

Bought mine new in 1999 and still love it! Added a Lingo and agree it is essential.

 

Not sure I can answer this, but a friend recently bought a Music Hall MMF 5.1, he brought some reissues to my house and I did the same. A lousy sounding reissue sounded just as lousy on both tables...