I have tossed this idea around a number of times. I had an identical post about 1.5 years ago. I've chosen to stay at home with my LP-12. I have the Trampolin,Cirkus, Lingo, and Ittok LV II with a Shelter 90X. I've thought about/played with Teres and Avid but have not budged. The most recent confirmation to stay with my Linn was the audition of the keel upgrade. I have put approximately 30K into my system and have experienced that most improvements are slightly marginal at best. However the sonic improvements with the LP 12 upgrade with the Keel/Ekos/Suspension was in no way marginal. It was mouth dropping. It re-affirmed my decision and gave me something new to save my pennies for. BTW, I have had my LP 12 for 12 years.
Should I replace my LP12?
I've had an LP12 for the past 23 years. In that time, I've done all the suspension upgrades. It still has the Valhala supply. It also has the original Ittok arm, but a Goldmund platter. It has served me well and still works fine. However, I'm thinking that it might be time to go for a new, quite different approach to analog. I could save my pennies and get the Keel upgrade, new arm, etc, but maybe I'm simply ready for a change. I'm thinking I could get around $2.5k for what I have, including Clearaudio cartridge. My problem is where to go next for about the same money? The Pro-Ject tables look interesting as to the VPIs. I'd like to trade the LP12 signature lower mids for something crisper with a very sweet top end. I'm a tube guy so that might be considered a guiding principle. Any thoughts?