Both true, and thank you for pointing that out. I had forgotten how close the MosFet was on the Hercules, but rightly, or wrongly, I know of a Valhalla that was modded to give clearance. Obviously it was disconnected and removed from the LP first!! Hopefully you can now pick up a re-capped shoebox Lingo for less than double the original selling price since the Lingo 4.....
It's $970- in the US. Depending on the dealer, installed or not at that price. I don't have a local dealer, so my 'fettler' had to install it at additional cost.
For those who've owned and/or heard a great many of the Linn upgrades... where does the Karousel rank? One of the best, one of the worst, or somewhere in the middle? (both in terms of degree of sound-quality improvement and bang-for-buck) .
That's more than twice the price I originally paid for my used Linn in 1986. However this upgrade makes more sense to me than have most of them. Is the new bearing also an oil-bath bearing?
The Karosuel is an oil-bath bearing. Does not use grease like the first original bearing. Take a look at the Karousel here: Linn — Karousel
The new Karousel won't work on a Pre-Cirkus sub chassis. I am always amused at how folks think the old model Linn LP12 can compete in ANY way against the new(er) versions. IME, the old model ( pre-Cirkus and with either the Nirvana mod and/or the white lined bearing) is just not in the same class at all!!
To be fair, the Linn dealer in my neck of the woods is an old UK hand, and has told me that he can make a used early LP12 he has lying around sound about 85 percent as good as a new Magik. Of course, this was before Karousel. .
I'm well aware of that, and have never said, or believed that an older model can compete against the new(er) version in any way, shape, or form. I have owned LP12s with black bearing / white liner (my first), black / black and Cirkus. I've also got a LP12 in need of some TLC with silver bearing... Back in 1993, the shop Director and myself bought a brand new LP12 Ekos 2 and Arkiv literally on the same day and a few weeks before the Cirkus. Together with the shop demo turntable Linn sent three Cirkus kits free of charge and I staggered the fitted of them and took the shop one home to directly compare on my system. Once the Cirkus out was fitted in mine there was no way I was going back to the pre- Cirkus configuration. Dozens of dems only confirmed the initial thoughts of a large improvement. I may not have heard the Karousel, but do have an inkling that it is likely to be an improvement. People whose opinions I trust have suggested the Karousel is the biggest upgrade they have heard on a LP12 and that a Majik spec LP12 with Karousel outperforms a..... As the improvement the Karousel brings appears to be so fundamental, I am intrigued to hear a Karousel on a Cirkus subchassis (rather than Majik, Kore, or Keel) mounted via latest bolts straightened with Kinky, using the springs, grommets and nuts supplied with the Karousel kit, but pre-Valhala power supply, prop lid, early armboard and hardboard base - which is the extreme of old mixed with new. Hope this makes more sense than the original rushed comment. (I do actually have a 25th anniversary top plate and beautiful fluted walnut plinth, but sadly these have remained unused since around 2004!!)
Linn state retrofittable to any Lp12 deck but cannot be used with Valhalla, Wakonda or third party power supplies that are fitted within the deck. Nothing about post cirkus models.
Yup. Even the Magik-level, since Linn has said they’re gonna up the MSRP, now that it’ll have Karousel and the new Krane arm.
Not post Cirkus, pre Cirkus. The reason being that the three holes required for the new bearing are not present on that old model sub chassis. Therefore, the incompatibility.
Linn didn't increase the MSRP when they added the new Karousel bearing to the Magik package and the Jelco sourced arm, only when they had to add the Krane ( which is Clearaudio sourced) due to the demise of Jelco. This is reasonable IMO, as the new Krane arm is going to be superior to the old Jelco sourced arm.
In that case, I feel better. Well, depending on how much they up the MSRP. Linn should be careful there. The Magik’s already the same price as a Michell Gyro + TecnoArm. .
The reason why the Karousel won’t fit to a pre-Cirkus sub chassis has to do with the thickness of the area where the Karousel clamps. It’s half the thickness of the Cirkus sub chassis so it won’t clamp to the sub chassis.
I'm sure someone could work out a solution by fitting a suitable steel plate to increase the thickness. Linn won't do this because it's dealer fit rather than DIY. I'm sure a DIYer or third party fettler will find a work around. As I said Linn fail to mention this issue on their website and you would have to at least add the cost of a new Majik subchassis. I think one member here had a used suitable replacement provided by a dealer at low cost due to the issue you mention.
There is a suitable solution, use the correct Linn sub-chassis. After all, that is how it has been designed and tested. Why have a LP12 and then put a sonically unknown bit of steel on it, sort of negates the benefits of the new bearing.
The bearing should improve any configuration without hidden extra costs. That may make it uneconomical on older decks. It's pretty much twice as much money as an 80s Lp12 cost as is. Dealers should at least be able to fit traded in suitable subchassis from other upgrades for a token amount. As I said Linn are not being open about this in their description or maybe hadn't thought this through. Bet there are thousands of customers running pre circus Lp12s who are in need of upgraded/replacement bearing without breaking the bank.
Does the disclaimer about internal power supplies with the Karousel effectively mean that the Majik is the only internal psu which will be OK (in Linn safety terms) with it? Presumably all the above cheerleaders for the K would recommend one + Majik over (say) Cirkus + Hercules - if an external psu is not desired?
The old internal PS interfere with the fit of the new bearing kit apparently. They also don't meet current electrical safety standards (certainly valhalla). The later does not mean they are actually unsafe.
You seem to forget that the price of anything in 80's terms needs to be adjusted upwards to compensate for inflation through time. Comparing the price of the LP12 in 1980 to today is going to give you an awakening. Therefore, comparing the price of the Karousel upgrade to a 80's LP12's price is basically meaningless, IMO. Why anyone would want to add the latest Karousel bearing to a pre-Cirkus sub chassis that will still be considerably holding back the LP12 sound wise also makes little sense, again IMHO. OTOH, would make a lot more sense to go to the now heavily discounted Cirkus kit, as I have noticed that is what is currently quite popular with the folks running those old Linn's.
People do compare prices if they last bought kit 30 years ago plus Linn inflation is at least twice the general level of inflation in the UK. If you need a Circus kit for an old deck there are plenty on Ebay used for around £200 but reports would suggest the new bearing on any subchassis would be a bigger upgrade. I'm sure the better dealers would have a stock of Circus subchassis traded in for similar price or even free if you were buying this new bearing. In fact I think they should make good the claim (on Linn's website) it fits any LP12! All this backs up my default advice to stick your old deck on Ebay and buy something else better and without all this upgrade / fettling mystique /need a dealer to set up........
