Record-playing Rituals?

What is with the Linn bashing?. I've compared mine to many tables from VPI and I still own the Linn. Not to say that it is perfect but the music came through more realistically for me. Set-up is critical and time consuming but when done right it removes most of the complaints I've read here.

I clean each side with an Oracle Carbon fiber brush. I clean the stylus each session with a Denon ultrasonic cleaner. I neverlubricate the stylus. When I first purchase an album it gets cleaned with a homemade cleaning solution on a Nitty Gritty machine, I place them in new rice paper sleeves and place the whole package in a poly bag to form a dust seal.

Though I use an ultrasonic machine to clean the stylus now, I previously used the striker on a matchbook cover. I was shown this trick by a real Linnie who used a seriously modded Citation II driving Linn Isobariks. An amazing sound as I recall. Worked pretty damned well and I still use it from time to time.

I don't think so!