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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
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.
paulcreed
559 posts
 
I can only speak from my experience but Rick from Audio Alternitive in Fort Collins Colorado is one of the best. He takes his time to talk to you and let you know exactly what he is going to do. He goes over literally every screw, nut, bolt on the table he even torques each screw on the plinth to a specific setting. He is meticulous and takes pride in what he does. He wants to talk to you on the phone as you pack the table before shipping to him. He wants it packed a specific way to insure everything arrives in perfect shape. The man cares and loves what he does to me that says a lot to me. I believe he only charges $300 and change which is worth it in my book for what he does.
rich51's avatar
rich51
3 posts
 
I'm in Westchester N.Y. and have a very good dealer whose taken care of my lp-12 for years. Right now waiting to have a Karousel fitted to a kore , Ekos,krystal, and lingo 4 from 2. The rest of the system is naim /harbeth but taking a chance (?) on the Rega aura. The aura  arrived a few weeks ago, but getting the work done is taking longer than I had hoped. I have some mobility issues so even packing and shipping the tt is no longer feasible, so some extra service is needed - although I did manage to get the aura up the stairs and into place. Looking forward to hearing it all soon
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,871 posts
 
For the OP, it would make good sense to go with Thomas OK and have at least the Karousel bearing installed. I recently installed the Karousel bearing and it is a significant and worthwhile upgrade, highly recommended.
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.


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