Linn Bedrok LP12 Plinth Upgrade

For the US price of the Linn Bedrock you can get a brand new Rega Naia, flog off your Linn and buy a truckload of records.

No more weekly visits to the Linn Doctor, no migraines because the suspension has gone off, no more waiting for next weeks must have upgrade.

You get a TT that's commensurate with the Linn, and a truckload of money left over for records, other toys etc.

Like an old Bentley past its sell buy date, the Linn is a money pit.

More importantly do you want to spend your golden years fiddling with a Rube Goldberg TT , or would you rather spend them listening to music by buying a TT  that does not require constant fettling, maintenance, prayers ( to the Linn gods ) and extreme patience.

I used the term fettling as follows _

The Linn Sondek is of Scottish descent.

Scottish dictionary defines fettling as -

II. v. 1. tr. To put to rights, into good condition or working order, to mend, repair; to settle, arrange

The best Linn was the 40th Anniversary model because it came with a bottle of 40 year old Highland Park scotch whisky. 

Perfect way to drown your sorrows when your Linn goes out of tune - again.

Sorry to disappoint you, but the current LP12 does not fall out of tune

@daveyf

I’m not disappointed, I’ve heard the later iterations ( $60k fully loaded ) and they are indeed much improved. I’ve often thought about getting another to put my Naim Aro on, for posterity. I also liked the Pink Linn with vector drive some years ago.

Try your Linn without a plinth, you can use T-slot extrusions. you might be surprised. No box is without its own inherent colourations.

As an aside I can't stand the current fad of replacing the springs with grommets - definitely out of tune literally with that "mod". I hear one note bass with grommets.

Did anyone ever compare the 80s Linn LP12 with a Logic DM101 back in the day?

Yes I had a Linn once with Syrinx PU2 when I was a student.

Also had a Logic DM101 for a short period around that time.

The Logic was quite good for the money, but the suspension was very twitchy.

The Sota Star that followed had a much more stable suspension system and was a sigiificant upgrade in sound quality to both.

The thief carefully took the record off and left it behind. 

David Bowie or Englebert Humperdinck ?

Until you personally experience waiting SEVERAL MINUTES for a very heavy platter to drop into it’s bearing well, you cannot imagine how impressive it is. 

Its not that impressive to me.

My TT has a 26kg platter and it takes about 3-4 hours to seat, including constantly hand spiinning the platter when replacing the oil for that time - and it's an inverted bearing.

Check out the Vertere TT - you can turn the bearing upside down and the spindle will not come out.

watch the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqP4eHBSlI4&t=2s

minute 5, the shaft simply drops into the bearing with no resistance

clunk

he removes it, adds a few drops of oil, it simply drops in again

clunk again.

There is no way in the world that that can be considered fine tolerances. and what makes the clunk noise? shouldn't it be zero contact floating on oil?

minute 6, drop the tonearm post in the mount indicates no close fit either.

This video is shocking. The guy has no idea of how to put a turntable together.

Not only is the bearing housing and shaft as loose as a goose,

 he puts no oil on the spindle before insertion.

In tight tolerance bearings you always smear oil around the spindle before insertion to avoid scouring when inserting.

Unbelievable - and the video reminds me of what a rube Goldberg contraption the Linn is along with the low tech bearing and motor the size of a weenie.

@daveyf 

It's basic engineering - you always put a smear of oil on both parts - housing and spindle to avoid scoring. If you rewatch the video when he first puts the spindle in the first time ( with no oil on the spindle ) he puts it in on an angle - scraping the top of the bearing housing.

I rewatched the video - few other items of concern

He drops the tonearm with delicate bearings straight onto the hard surface of the table - you can hear it clunk as he clumsily puts it down. I always place arms on soft pads to protect them.

Then he checks the vertical tracking force with the arm out of level. Most folk on this forum know that the tracking force will change when the vta is altered.

He should be checking the tracking force when the arm is level.

I also notice that when he checks the tracking force he manages to drop the lid and send it across the deck and almost wipes out the cantilever.

If this is the top Linn guy so be it.

Oh and he reckons the Linn should bounce evenly in a "pistonic" motion.

but of course it doesn't - watch the video - when he bounces the platter the side the tonearm sits on bounces much more ( the motion is higher and lower )than the other side - the whole thing is bouncing sideways, certainly not evenly let alone pistonic.

No If I spent $60k on a turntable I would not want that guy touching it.

Thanks - exactly what I was looking for.  I will read "diamond hardened" to mean a "Diamond-Like Carbon Coating" which is likely to be plasma sputtered onto a substrate such as tool steel in a vacuum under tightly controlled conditions,

No diamond hardening refers to a heating and cooling process used to harden the steel, it is not a coating. The Dohmann uses maraging steel - which is really an alloy, likely including elements of copper and nickel that results in a harder steel than ferrous metals, more stable.