2. analog
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Where in the US to send my Linn Sondek LP12.

I thought I read somewhere that the best Linn Sondek LP12 turntable specialist was in Colorado somewhere. My nearest Linn dealer is in Ann Arbor Michigan. I live in SW Ohio. My query is - would it be better for me to personally drop off my turntable to Overture Audio in Ann Arbor or would it be a better plan to pay the shipping to this Linn  dealer in Colorado.


I'm leaning toward driving up I-75 to Ann Arbor and hand deliver my vintage LP12 with Ittok arm and K9 cartridge for a consultation on a power supply upgrade that I can afford. I have heard that the Lingo 4 is a meaningful upgrade. I'm not really wanting to play that crazy upgrade path game that Linn does where they steer you into an endless escalation of tweaks and upgrades.


But if anybody can vouch for a good Linn turntable tuner who is honest and who will work with an ordinary customer of limited means, I would be most appreciative.

masi61

Showing 7 responses by masi61

masi61 OP
97 posts
 
I mainly am interested in playing 45’s. I know that here are aftermarket kits that a British audio store sells but I could probably swing for the Linn Lingo 4 that I have only a little bit of information on. I’ll be calling the Ann Arbor Linn dealer to ask about it.

But yeah, all these motor, sub-platter, bracing, arm board, upgrades add huge amounts to the cost. 

I am am tempted to just do what @roberjerman says and learn to do my own setup. In order to take the plunge with this, I guess I’ll need to keep reading Michael Fremer’s analog column.
masi61 OP
97 posts
 
What a great bunch of responses folks. I was out of the loop of this corner of the audiophile hobby for 2 decades. 

I spoke with ThomasOK and had a very nice conversation with him. I got a price quote on the Lingo 4, and got some info on the replacement of the Cirkus bearing. My LP12 is from like 1981 so I think I’m going to jump up several levels of magnitude in precision with the Karousel bearing that is being released. 

I never did get the kind of bass detail I wanted from my LP12 with Ittok arm and K9 cartridge. Maybe having having the Bryston MM phono stage feeding my Bryston BP-26 preamp be on the receiving end of the turntable will be revealing of the detail and non-fatigue that I seek. I have only listened to my LP12 on my old NAD 1155 preamp/2200 power amp combo and it definitely sounded better than whatever CD player I was using at the time. My current system’s digital sound quality is pretty amazing so the bar for getting this old LP12 back playing records is set pretty high.
masi61 OP
97 posts
 
Just an update: I have been visiting the Linn turntable forum where ThomasOK posts frequently. This has been really a good resource and I am saving my $$$ for the LIngo 4 power supply and I hope to get a deal where I can get that and the Karousel bearing and maybe a subplatter all for a (maybe) a price that I can either finance with a small interest free loan. 
I do plan to use the Bryston moving magnet phono stage with the Linn K9 cartridge for now. 
masi61 OP
97 posts
 
Thanks for the clarification Tom.

 This is kind of exciting for me to get back into vinyl. I want to mount my old Sound Organisation turntable stand to my plaster living room wall but right now I cannot locate the wall studs in my 1959 plaster and (metal) lathe living room walls. My stud finder is the old standard density sensing type and it cannot reliably detect wall studs here due to the metal lathe mucking up the reading. Does anyone know if there is some other style of stud sensor that might work better for my plaster? This little detail has me stopped in my tracks.

If I could scrape together $4,000 by May 22nd my wish list includes: The Karousel bearing and The Lingo 4 for sure. I think for the next $2,000 I’d be interested in the Keel sub platter (how much is the Keel BTW?) I would think that the sub platter and Karousel should go together at the same time. I’m actually wondering if I could order the GreenStreet Audio aluminum sub-chassis for $895 and have them drill it for my Ittok arm and the Karousel bearing. 

Then, instead of worrying about the Linn sub-chassis, I could maybe purchase a Linn MM cartridge that would be better than my K9 - that is if they make one.
masi61 OP
97 posts
 

@daveyf I went last month and had an appointment with Thomas OK and did just that. I had more of a major overhaul of my LP12. I got the Karousel bearing, a new thinner felt mat, had the Karousel bearing installed on a Greenstreet Audio keel copy sub base that I had purchased in advance. I also changed out the Valhalla power supply and standard motor from the early 80's for a Radikal (Akurate level). I also changed out my Linn K9 cartridge for a Linn Adikt MM cartridge to work with my Bryston BP2-MM phono stage. I also got the Trampolin footer kit at the same time as well.

I spent approximately 5 hours at Overture Audio and Thomas worked through a checklist very methodically. It was really great to see the care that he takes setting up this gear. I had brought a thicker stainless steel top plate that I had purchased from eBay, a "Vinyl Passion Orpheus" that he tried briefly but the stainless plate was slightly too large for the plinth. I got to see how the original top plate is curved and how it flattens out as it is installed.

I also had purchased a new tonearm cable, also from eBay (both of these were British products BTW), a "pure silver tonearm cable" which he installed.


masi61 OP
97 posts
 

@sktn77a - sorry for a 2 year delay but I think I can describe the LP12 update now that I have been living with it. Short answer is that “it is really great and I love it!” 
 

I had a hum issue where the Bryston BP-2 MM had this scary low frequency hum that would vary in intensity. Turns out that Bryston had provided an umbilical power cable that was designed for their newer 1/3 chassis power supply. I needed the umbilical that was more of a “Y” umbilical that tapped into my Bryston BP-26 preamps power supply umbilical. It hummed for a second when first turned on then became silent. 
 

As for the sound of the turntable it has just made music listening this fun discovery process. With the ability to play audiophile 45 double albums and reissues and remixes of classic albums it is really detailed and also textured in 3 dimensional space that fills my large living room when played back through my full size Thiel CS3.6 speakers. The gain on the Bryston phono stage is like 41 db and I have to turn the volume up more in comparison to my digital sources but the level of quietness is really good so that is not that big of any issue. One of these days I will open up the phono stage top plate and re-set the capacitance for the tonearm cable and Linn Adikt cartridge. I’m not sure what this will do to the SQ but I plan to play around with it to see. The SQ now is super clear top to bottom, the bottom frequencies I’d like to be a tad thicker to anchor the sound more. 
 

Since I got the Karousel bearing, the Green Street Audio sub platter, the Akurate Radical power supply and the Adikt cartridge all simultaneously I cannot speak to which upgrade accounted for which sonic improvement. But I know for a fact that this Linn LP-12 turntable is the most musical and most enjoyable it has ever been.

masi61 OP
97 posts
 

If you have an LP12 languishing in the corner it may be time for you to bring it up to spec and disuss with the Linn "fettler" your upgrade options.

I bought the Akurate Radikal power external power supply/upgraded motor kit for like $4100. This was when the Karousel bearing upgrade was released and it was valued at $795 but being given away "free" if you spent at least $4,000 on other LInn Products. The Green Street Audio "Keel clone" supbase was another $795 and I want to say that the Adikt MM cartridge was like $650. He charged me a fee to take my LP12 apart and set it up properly, something like 200$.

So, yeah, adding all that up I just came up with a quick number of $5695. Any other time I would be complaining that this is too much but at this stage in my life it just sort of came together and the upgrade that I just knew was a possibility has happened. I had some extra cash for this so I was delighted.

BTW - my Bryston MM phono stage retailed for another $1150 or so all in all I’m now talking about $6795 to get it up to spec but man I’m loving my vinyl record collection and picking up new titles again.

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