Unless I’m mistaken, Ivor Tiefenbaum designed the original LP12 to minimize relative movement between the stylus and the record’s surface. This required identical suspension loading and damping at each corner of the turntable’s platter suspension, a rigid connection between the platter and the arm board, and arm board suspensions which matched the loading and damping of the platter’s. The consequently precise setup procedure requires technical expertise and a model specific jig which are beyond the scope of most audiphiles’ capabilities.
I invested ~$7k in a vintage ’90s LP12 equipped with an Akita 3 Tonearm and a Linn Krystal MC cartridge--each designed to complement the ballistics of the other. And the sound quality of my set up is the best I could ever hope for, even compared to current LP playback systems that cost twice as much as mine did. That’s why I agree with a great many audiophiles and published critics that the Linn LP12’s design is timeless, not a relic of the past to be discounted as such.
FWIW, I wouldn’t hesitate to make the same (ahem) "mistake" again.
BTW: I’m one of those impractical hipsters who actually enjoys the multifaceted ritual of LP playback, notwithstanding the accurate reproduction of the ultrasonic emotional and sound staging cues I hear in live music of which only high-quality analogue systems are capable. But I’m just an old geezer who loves live music more than just about about anything.