REK-O-KUT sounds better than my LINN?

I have never heard a REK-O-KUT, but would just comment that old Linns never die, but their bearings do wear out. That is, there are a lot of bad sounding Linns out there because they have been around for years, are still high perceived value, but as their bearings wear the noise level gradually rises and they start to sound no better than a Rega 2. If your Linn has not been serviced for a while it may pay you to get an approved Linn dealer to do some work on it.

Well of course it does. Haven't you seen that Stereophile now ranks the Linn in Class C ??? : ) Sean
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I'm surprised at this. Something must be amiss with the LP12, because while not Stereophile Class A ( Quite a DUBIOUS distinction IMHO, being determined as much by advertising dollars as perceived sound quality) still a pretty good table which when set up properly and modified sensibly is certainly above what I would consider MY class C.

Redkiwi's comment about the bearing is germane if your table does not have the much more substantial (and recent) "Cirkus" bearing mod. The other part of your table that lends itself to poor sound (again IMHO) is the Valhalla. How happy I was to replace that with an aftermarket motor/power supply! Did your tonearm bearings check out prior to your purchase as well? Cartridge set up OK?

I'd recommend having the table checked out by a Linn tech before rushing to toss it into the dumpster. -John

There is a reason why seasoned audiophiles in the Far East are constantly buying old turntables from the 50's or 60's because they sound better.
And the Linn Sondek LP-12, the most over-rated turntable in
the whole audio world. Light weight platter, weak structural construction, extremely cheap motor, poor material...... I'm always amazed by people who spend thousands to buy this table. Truly a Class A in price only and not even Class C in performance.