Turntable upgrade: What to do?

Boy, this would have been a really contentious debate not so long ago betweeen the "Linnies" and "the others". At one time, the Linn LP-12 was clear the best -- and maybe the only -- show in town if you wanted a truly high-end turntable.

I have to agree, however, with Jeff. There are a number of excellent TT's now available, and in my opinion, a number of them exceed the LP-12, both in performance and value. Among the tables that I prefer to the LP-12 are the Basis 2500 (not the Debut, which is too expensive for my budget), the ClearAudio Champion Level 2, the VPI Aries and VPI TNT, the Michell GyroDec, the SME Model 10, and the relatively new Acoustic Signature models which have been available at excellent introductory prices: the Analog One ($3500), and the Final Tool ($2000).

Pair virtually any of these tables with a top-flight arm (such as VPI JMW 10.5 or 12.5; Graham 2.2; SME IV; Immedia RPM2; the Wheaton Tri-Planar (available again); or even the new Rega RB1000) , and you'll have one damned nice analog front end.

The Linn and Naim products for that matter always seem to have a cult following. It's hard to ever hear of rhythm and pace without hearing these product lines mentioned in the same sentence. With that said, I too think the Linn LP12 is a fine product. I owned the LP12/Ittok combination for almost 19 years. There was never one problem with this setup. This alone says so very much about the reliability of such a product. But it also gave me 1000's and 1000's of hours of incredible musical enjoyment.

Finally I felt it was time to consider other products for possible table/arm upgrade. There are so many awesome used table/arm combinations for sale here on Audiogon. I see Clearaudio, VPI, Michel Orbe, Well Tempered Reference, etc., in the $2500-4000 range....all with arms. I was looking at an older Versa Dynamics, but a Clearaudio Reference with TQ1 arm came my way at an incredible price. As wonderful as the Linn setup was, this Clearaduio setup is in a completely different league. One or two subtle improvements is not always an issue but when an upgrade is like this, it is hard to know where to start the list of improvements. It took only a few seconds to realize the incredible extension in the low end, the far more resolution and air at the top and the less prominent and more natural midrange. The music took on a 3D presentation the Linn never did. More than anything however, the biggest improvement was the retrieval of information. Did the "rhythm and pace" factor increase or decrease? Who knows....but I got far more involved in the music with the Clearaudio. I had an initial tracking problem with cartridges in the TQ1 arm but this has passed.

I could have considered all the updates, arm changes, etc., to the Linn but I truly felt I would only get minor improvements based on the initial LP12 design. I felt the money spent on any Linn upgrades could be far better spent on other table/arm combinations. I am convinced, for myself at least, this was the case.

Before you go off and spend $2k+ on a new arm for your Linn, look into what improvements you might get from selling your Linn and the money you have set aside for an arm. Whether one setup is "superior" to another only you can determine. But as I learned, at least consider other products as you just might be pleasantly surprised.

Do you have a preference between the Basis 2500 and the Clearaudio Champion Level II? If you do, could you explain? I have a Basis 2500 and have been considering an upgrade to the 2800, but have seen the Champion and was very impressed, particularly considering its price.

I can try the Champion in my system, and probably will, but I'd be interested in your impressions.

Thanks

pctower,
if you're looking to unload your Basis 2500 in the near future, let me know - I'd be interested.

My REK-O-KUT is sounding better than my LINN. I felt like such a fool knowing that an $10 estate sale turntable would shame the mighty LINN. Someone bought my LINN so I had some extra money for LPs. Good Luck with those big buck tables!