linn sondek tt

Thanks everyone - 

beskie - I will send PM. 

The LP12 is like the broom in 'only fools and horses' - I had the broom for 30 years - I changed the handle 20 times and the head another 30 times...

I bought a used LP-12 with a Cirkus upgrade off e-Bay about 2 years ago. I already had a Linn Ittok LV-II arm. 

I upgraded the power supply and motor to a DC powered motor (Mober - see honmo2000 eBay seller). First time I’d heard a sustained piano note stay solid as a rock. 

I upgraded the subchassis with a Greenstreet Audio sub-chassis. First thing I noticed as a benefit is the arm to spindle geometry was accurate to a point that was beyond my ability to measure it. It fit my LP-12/ittok jig perfect. The standard sub-chassis/armboard in the lower end LP-12s allow for an infinite array of geometry mis-alignments. It’s not hard to align, but the Greenstreet (and Linn’s Keel) completely takes the geometry issue out of the equation. 

Next, I upgraded the bearing and sub-platter with one developed by honmo2000. The surface noise dropped enough to warrant the purchase.

I then added a Tiger Paw Tranquility between the bearing and platter which dropped the surface noise again. There is no noise getting from the sub-chassis/bearing to the playing surface now. 

I’m very intrigued by the Tiger Paw Javelin arm as a replacement for the Ittok and that will probably be my next upgrade. 

I am currently running a VandenHul Frog that replaced a Dynavector XX-II Mk2. 

The LP-12 is an excellent deck to start a journey towards making it state of the art through third-party upgrades. I am not the type who would spend the money for a new LP-12 of any spec, especially the top line spec, which is essentially what I have now, except for the arm. And I have a LOT less invested than a top-spec LP-12. It is equivelant to, and it some ways better than, the exact same recorded piece of music over my Ayre DSD. 

I wouldn’t replace this table with anything on the current market until I was ready to look at linear-tracking tonearms and foot-thick acrylic platter tables. And I’m saying that partially tongue-in-cheek. 

My current (and probably final) system is Parasound JC-3+, Parasound JC-2, Dual ATI AT524NC amps powering a pair of analog x-over Linkwitz LX-521 speakers, all connected with VandenHul Rock or better. My digital front-end is an Ayre QB-9 DSD.

marktrav,
Thanks for sharing I'm using a Lingo 1 now... might want to try the Mober next, the Mober is much more affordable compared to the Radikal. The Javelin looks like a very well engineered arm.. been receiving many good feedbacks. I'm sure it'll be a good upgrade for your system.

btwsg,

Thanks! I also discovered that the Kuzma 4point9 fits my "Keel-Klone" Greenstreet sub-chassis. So, Kuzma in addition to Javelin. Not to mention the various, well-received Audio Origami arms.