Sometime in the '90's my wife bought a Linn from the esteemed Gene Rubin. In other words, it was quite well-set up. I can't remember the arm or cartridge but they were Linn/Gene Rubin approved. I already had a SOTA Sapphire with the modest arm they often came with (an MMT?).. .When the wife went out of town for a time, I set up both 'tables side-by-side and did several weeks of intensive comparative listening. The verdict -- The Linn had better speed stability and the sound had more punch. Yeah, my toe did do some tapping. The SOTA system, by contrast, sounded more immersive. The timbres of the instruments felt more authentic and I got a more precise, fall-into-it sound-stage. The Linn's bass was more tuneful but the SOTA's went deeper and sounded more natural. In any case it wasn't long before I put the Linn back where it came from..
Thoughts on the Linn LP12 turntable
I don’t see many discussions that include the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable and was wondering why? They’ve been around since the late 70’s and other then power supply and a few other minor changes (IMO) are relatively unchanged. I had one in the early 80’s and another in the late 90’s. They are somewhat finicky to get setup correct and once you do, they sound great. That being said I know there have been a lot better designs to come out since the LP12’s hey-day. Are they worth considering anymore or has the LP12 just become another audio vintage collectors item?