Linn LP-12 still competitive with the very best?

First, let start out by saying newer is not always better!
In response to Schipo. Linn is still considered to be one of the better turntables around(according to most of the audiophile rags)and the reason that they haven't change their design philosphy is because one, its been tried and proven and two, if ain't broke don't fix it.
Linn has been at the forefront of turntable design philosphy for the last 35 yrs. or more. They must be doing something right! They're still selling a hell of a lot of turntables! I'm sure that having been in business as long as they have, they're intellegent enough to know when a major design change is necessary.(how many turntables has the audio critic sold?)
Folks kill me with this obsolete design argument. Its not about design or specs, its ultimately about how it sounds in your system. Again, folks have been saying for years that tube amps are an old antiquated design yet, the tube amp industry has been florishing for the last 10-15 yrs.
I wonder why? Its because real audiophiles listen with their ears! Its not necessarily about the latest technology or newest design, its about how the component performs!!!

No. Not in my opinion. That's not to say that a Linn can't sound pretty good.

I have not thrown away my LP-12. I have even inherited another one and optimized the original. It works well, I get to play my vinyl, I don't think too much about it. Am I wow'ed by the new designs? Yes! Am I going to spend as much as buying a new car to replace the Linn? No!
I do think that a lot of the negative attitudes we are hearing these days is Linn's fault. I think they are overpriced. If they have been tweaking the same basic design for so many years, I would expect design and production costs have been minimized. If I were looking for a new table, I would be checking out the competition, which has grown so significantly, that I would also expect Linn to be re-evaluating their position in the market.
I have also been disappointed with dealer service. This may be a localized problem, but now I go to an independent expert now whom I trust. This now sounds more negative than I actually feel. I can't really complain about so many years of reliable and musical performance.

A 1979 LP12 is not competitive with the best of today but a 2009 LP 12 is.

The only thing that's obsolete about a current spec LP 12 is its appearance, which definitely has a retro '60's or 70's look to it. It's not as nice looking as newer designs, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I might like the look of something jazzier, but I'm not going to get rid of my table for appearance any more than I would trade in my wife for looking a little older than a more current woman.

As far as engineering and construction goes, the thrust plate in the bearing well is machined so precisely, you cannot measure its flatness mechanically. You have to use wavelengths of light to measure it. Hardly obsolete.

Whether you like the Linn sound or not is a different question. But this has nothing to do with obsolescence. People who don't like Linn perhaps use the obsolescence argument to cover their real point, i.e. they just don't like the Linn and prefer other tables for a variety of reasons. Rather than extol the virtues of their own table, they try to make their table look better by attacking the competition.

My complaints about the Linn are its non-user friendly set-up and the excessive price of its upgrades. Perhaps Linn is trying to squeeze as much out of it while they can before it dies, to be replaced by computer based audio.
It is not the table that is obsolete, it is the technology itself that is obsolete. And that applies to all tables, soon to be followed by CD players.

In response to Eee3 I never said that newer was better. I am responding to the fact that linn is not competitive at it's price point with better designed tables. I for one cannot understand the statement if it ain't broke don't fix it? We are not talking about waffle iron's here but an expensive TT. That has not kept up with most if not all the competition with all it's years in existence. When the Goldmund studio first came out it trashed the Linn with it's looks and use of newer material's which contributed to a better performance. Yet through it all Linn never addressed it's inferior built and the lack of wanting to use better known materials. I will concede if not for the use of the Pabst motor on many older Goldmund's they would have sold at first glance before anyone would have considered a Linn. I also find it laughable with the need of an expert Linn setup technician to float the table "suspending it in mid air" so to correctly set it up. There are tables from VPI, Rega and many other's that would take most of 45min or less to set up rightly out of box with better sound and with reliability of setup.