What is your recommendation on upgrading a Linn LP


Here is what I own. A 1984-1985 Linn with BASIK PLUS ARM and no Valhalla. Other wise it is stock. What is my best course? 1) Buy a new component (Linn)and add upgrades I like. 2) Buy parts as they become available on Audiogon and build a top grade player with my old once as a starting point 3. Buy a used player that meets my needs and wishes.

I look forward to your help
schatzman
I've known a few younger, naïve audiophiles who bought the whole Linn propaganda manifesto. Wonder if their close audio buddies ever did an intervention ;-).
Long before reading his comments, I invested in one of those "superior" turntables that Arthur Salvatore bangs on about, equipped it with a Phantom mkII. Yes it does do all the details, dynamics, stability and realism that one would expect from such combinations.
Despite this I still love the LP12 and wouldn't mind buying another 1980s example equipped with a Linn Ittok. Running a well set up LP12 on an Audiotech table mounted on a concrete floor through a substantial amplifier and a pair of electrostats permits a level of clarity that would even have woken up old Arthur ;^)

(Not to mention the wraparound surround capability - from only 2 channels - and the bringing of performers into the living space right next to your listening chair in 6ft tall tangible corporeal realism! Show me another turntable that pulls this trick off as effectively and cheaply as a 1980s Linn and I'll buy it!) :)

Ironically (and this will upset Arthur in his capacity as a former top VPI salesman) the worst T/T demo I've ever had was a VPI Classic/JMW Memorial 12" arm/Transfiguration cart. It was my worst nightmare. Constant (every second or 2!!) ear shattering pops & clicks from new vinyl despite multiple washes and even replacing the discs with other freshly washed examples (VPI 17.5).
I had 2 hours of it and it's not an experience I'll easily forget. By contrast I don't think I remember any surface noise at all from the old Linn Sondek on nearly all of my material over a period of a quarter of a century. Nor indeed do I feel the setup was fussy after it was done. The turntable went for 17 straight years without further setup and behaved as flawlessly as on day 1.

Not saying VPI is a poor T/T manufacturer, just recalling that particular demo. Was it the discs? MRA? The cleaning process, the T/T itself or a combination of several factors? Who knows. Listening through the noise the general standard of SQ left me cold. A bit CD like, not especially involving and nothing to get excited about.
Nothing sounds like a Linn. Get a tuneup, buy a new cartridge. Play records. There are lot of new designs out there that all offer a different sound and all of them are easier to own, but they are not LP12s.

If you can upgrade the arm at some point or add a power supply, that would be great but a full spec LP12 now costs like a mid size car. If you have a local dealer you trust, they might be able to provide some idea if which upgrades make the most difference.

I myslef am looking for a newer used Majik.
Moonglum.....what in the world were you listening to. My VPI is as quiet as a CD (though much better sound). Something is very wrong here.....
Dear SG,
I can appreciate your confusion. It's good to hear your VPI is working properly ;^)
I'm certain many VPI owners would echo your sentiments.

To make matters worse in this example it used all the standard gadgets (clamp, periphery ring etc) intended to advance its performance so it looked like a million dollars but sounded like $1.

As a rule I would tend to blame the LPs themselves, but if this is the true explanation they must be the worst examples of new vinyl on the planet.
The thought did occur to me that the periphery ring might have been acting as a circumferential "lightning rod" for static but the noise was persistent from beginning to end of each side.
I dismissed that explanation but I admit I've never heard anything like it...