Is a Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo/Ekos with a Cirkus update, the last turntable I’ll ever buy?

I have been away from this party but it seems to me that if you use the OEM tonearm on the 1200G to run a 103, you would have to find some way to add mass, like a hefty aftermarket headshell, if you hope to get the most out of the cartridge.  I've been using an 18g Ortofon LH9000 headshell with my Koetsu Urushi with excellent results, for one example. But maybe you'd want something even heavier.

Davey, I meant no disrespect to Linn or those who love the LP12.  Nor is the analogy to a Morgan sports car in any way meant to be insulting; I just thought it was a better metaphor among auto metaphors, compared to using Ferrari as the paradigm.  As for an analogy to tube-based electronics, you have a point, I suppose.  I'm fine with that.

I don’t want to pile on top of the heap of LP 12 naysayers, but I guess I will in a way. Regarding the metaphor comparing the LP 12 to a Ferrari, I would say it is more apt to compare the LP 12 to a Morgan sports car. Still doggedly being built in the same way it was built, out of wood, in the 1930s, but with occasional upgrades to make it faster and stiffer. Yet for those who adore it, Morgan sports cars continue to give a great deal of fun and pleasure. That’s the only thing that counts in the end.

Davey, I don’t know how Linn could rebut what is after all nothing but a dissenting opinion in the first place. So they are wise to keep mum. Their products represent the sum total of a set of opinions first formulated by Tiefenbrun.

In order to know what's "better", one has to have owned and used an LP12 in one's own system.  That narrows the field of valid opinions.  Also, if you permit the idea of "used" and/or vintage turntables, that also changes the game.

Coach, I could only respond by saying what turntables I own and like.  I have a bias against suspended, belt-driven turntables in general.  So there you go.  Am I "right" to shy away from such constructions?  I can only say my bias is a product of nearly 50 years as a vinylista, but time spent is no guarantee of ultimate wisdom.  And on the other hand, I have heard a few very expensive belt-drives, most notably the Dohmann Helix which costs upwards of $25,000 and has a built-in Minus K suspension, that are truly superb to my ears.  On a lower level of cost, I do like the Kuzma Reference as well.  I personally own a much tweaked Lenco idler-drive and four direct-drive turntables, including a Denon DP80, Kenwood L07D, Technics SP10 Mk3, and a Victor TT101, all in massive plinths sitting on vibration absorbing materials that don't "bounce", all up and running in two completely different audio systems. 

Impossible question.  If I wanted to be sarcastic, I might suggest that it is the last turntable you will ever buy, but it might be a prelude to the upgrade-itis that afflicts some Linnies, courtesy of Linn.  Which can be as expensive as buying an entirely new and different turntable. But like someone said, I am not qualified because I never owned a Linn.  The brand does have its dedicated fans.  And it sounds like you really want someone to support a decision you want to make anyway.  So, knock yourself out.