Repair Linn turntable vs buying a different one

I have been working on and fine tuning Linn, Rega and other turntables for over 40 years.  The LP12 is still the finest record spinner I have heard and is certainly worth upgrading.  However, I am having some problems with the figures you mention and the upgrades mentioned.  First off an Akito 3 is $2400 and comes with a really excellent cable and a Krystal is $1900 so we are far short of $6000 parts.  Secondly I can't see where there would be $1000 in labor.  Linn products like tonearms, cartridges, power supplies, etc. include installation in their prices.  I do a complete 3 hour setup and fine tune of an LP12 for $225.  Unless the original turntable has been highly modified in a bad way I can't see it taking more than four or five hours - I could build a whole new LP12 from its individual parts in less time than that.  Then as to the recommended upgrades I feel that the Akito 3 is really only a sideways move from the Ittok LVII.  So unless your Ittok is actually broken I would just keep it, buy an Akito arm cable for $400 and put the Krystal on it.  There are, of course, other upgrades that are very worth doing but that would require more discussion to see what you are wanting to do.

In the end, I would put a properly configured $7000 (or $12,000 or $26,000) LP12 up against any other turntable at the same price or even higher.  The LP12 is an exceedingly musical turntable and I have had a number of customers buy one after comparisons with similarly priced or more expensive turntables.  But you do want to do the upgrades sensibly and from the little information you have given on the proposed upgrades I don't think they fit that description.  I hope this helps.  ThomasOK.

I love Linn tables.  I have seven, including 2 with DC motor; the others use either Valhalla boards or 2 other board types for speed control.  I have Jelco, SME, Micro Seiki, Grace and Linn arms for them.  I have installed counterweights on most of their subchassis to even the spring loading.  I have one with an oversize plinth that uses 12 inch arms.  IMHO Linn is God's gift to tweakers like me who WANT to mess with it, and I believe they can as good as anything out there.  That said, I wouldn't recommend one to somebody who just wants to play the music and regards occasional adjustment as a chore or an expense.  There are plenty of tables around that you can buy and forget about maintenance until they just stop.  Of course, unless they are very expensive they won't have a suspension capable of the isolation the Linn provides.

It cost me a little over  $250 for a motor replacement and an Audioquest tonearm cable.  My 1978 Linn is doing just fine.  My audiophile neighbor has coined the term "crazy stupid"  when he looks at some of the way people spend their money...

what a way!

jhv

I started with an lp12 with ittok and karma then changed to an Elite Rock with Excalibur tone but kept the Karma cartridge this was much better than the Linn set up.  I now have an Alphason Sonata with Zeta tonearm and a Mr Brier cartridge again this is much better again than the elite rock turntable so why would you want to spend that much on the Linn. Sorry but in my opinion the Lp12 is a complete waste of money you can spend far less and get much better and you don’t need to keep upgrading. I am from the UK and there seems to be a big backlash against Linn over here as most audiophiles have seen the light when it comes to the Linn LP 12 and rightly so.

Maz