Thoughts on the Linn LP12 turntable

You guys can not get it though your heads that the LP 12 in it's current form is a BAD design. Forget about how it is made or the quality of the parts it is a bad design and just a glorified copy of the AR XA which was groundbreaking in the 60s.

@lewm , yes, the suspension morphology is the same as the Old Sapphire because unlike the LP12 it is the right design for a spring suspension. Both Avid, Basis and SME use basically similar  setups. The look is also generic SOTA. Other than that it is a totally different turntable than the old Sapphire. Nothing else is remotely similar. You could say the same for the LP12, but it's problem is that it is based on a bad design and nothing anyone else can say is going to change that. The LP12 is an overpriced Toyota Corolla. The Thorens TD 1600 is every bit as good if not better and much less expensive. Frankly, nothing Linn makes is of interest to me. If they went out of business tomorrow I would not even notice. 

@daveyf, do yourself a big favor and get yourself a decent turntable and you will never look back.

mijostyn

You could say the same for the LP12, but it’s problem is that it is based on a bad design and nothing anyone else can say is going to change that ... Frankly, nothing Linn makes is of interest to me.

You sure seem to be interested in the LP12. Rarely do you miss an opportunity to denigrate it, often in a lengthy tome. So I have to wonder: Who is it you’re trying to convince?

While the LP12 isn’t to my taste, I’ve heard recent versions of it. It’s a fantastic turntable. My preference for higher mass designs hardly makes the LP12 a "bad design."

For me, not having heard a Cosmos but having owned a Star Sapphire Series III for 10 years, what most sets the Cosmos apart is the Eclipse drive system and possibly the magnetic bearing. But that’s 40 years of development. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I've never owned an LP12 and I don't aspire to ever own one.

Why?  I've had an aluminum sub-chassis Heybrook TT2 for the past 25 years.

I should add that I brought up the Linn vs Sota analogy only to make my point about the significance of marketing.  Linn chose to keep the model name and its appearance constant while gradually upgrading the innards (at considerable added cost).  SOTA chose also to stick pretty close to the appearance of their original Sapphire while also upgrading the innards, also at increasing cost, but they also re-named each upgraded version which gave us the public the feel of a new product every 5-10 years.

I’m afraid you’ve lost me.

1979?  

stereophile?

As recently as June 2022, Herb Reichert reviewed the latest (and current) Klimax and said this:

“Does the Klimax sound as good as the best turntables at any price? Its performance is in that zone; I can say that much.”

As I (and he) said, it isn’t for everyone.

@mijostyn If nothing else, your posts make me laugh, particularly after a hard day. So thanks for that. Get myself a decent turntable, like your Sota?? No thanks; if I’m going to step up in tables it’s going to be to the likes of a Basis Inspiration or TW Acoustics BN..maybe a Brinkmann Balance. These tables are what it takes to sound better than my current LP12 set up. You should consider listening to them, which I am almost 100% sure you have never done, but beware...if you do, be prepared to open the pocketbook!

In the meantime, having had a fellow a’phile friend over tonight for a listen to my ’faulty’ Linn, all I can say is that he is now considering selling his pretty Garrard 301 in a Artisan Fidelity plinth to replace it with a like kind....LP12! ....;0)