Any Linn LP12 owners in So Cal get the Karousel bearing upgrade?

mabonn back in 1977 the Linn was the best turntable us regular folks could afford. I owned two of them. But, there is no turning a sow's ear into a silk purse. After 40 years of service it owes you nothing. There are several turntables for reasonable money that are vastly superior. Tables from Kuzma, SME, Sota and Basis come to mind. Maybe it is time to turn the old lady in. You can probably still get decent money for it. 

@mabonn I posted my impressions on the new Karousel bearing in the members review section, it is a superb upgrade. If you believe mijostyn above, and really why would you, lol; then its time to trade in a superior turntable!
Anyhow, to answer your OP ( mijsotyn just couldnt bring himself to not post more negativity about a table that he hasn’t heard since yours was produced, lol) PM and I will give you my local San Diego county tech's info who is a Linn expert. ( and did a super job of installing my Karousel).
You will be more than happy with this upgrade!

I upgraded to the Karousel bearing and the Kore subchassis and highly recommend the combination. Unfortunately, I did both at the same time so can't comment on the relative merits of each, but the combination gave me a turntable that resolves much greater detail without subtracting from the LP12's musicality. I own, or have owned, SOTA, Thorens, Garrard, VPI, Voyd, Well-Tempered, and Rega (RP10) tables and admire what each brings to the table but I keep coming back to the Linn for overall enjoyment of my record collection.

I had a Kore installed in 2015 and the Karousel in 2020, so permit me  a few words. The single biggest bang for the buck improvement I have ever heard on my 23 years old LP12 has been the Karousel. 

I learnt all I need to know about Linn when I restored my 1964 Fiat Bambina in the late seventies. Pulling the motor out to put a new gearbox in I must have undone many "locknuts".

Lo and behold, some years later, the Linn Doctor called in the early 80's - a new upgrade - LOCKNUTS under the springs to stop the suspension going out ! Only took Ivor 20 years to discover them.

@dover   There are a number of car mechanics on the various forums who also fancy themselves as experts at setting up the Linn turntable. All of them complain of the results that they get...I wonder why, hmmm. :0)

@daveyf 
For the record I'm not a car mechanic, and I was a Linn Dealer for a while - at their request - not mine.

@dover  So, what happened?

@daveyf
When they launched the Ekos, I had customers ready to go, and they refused to supply, expecting the customers to go to their distributor direct who also owned a retail outlet. Unfortunately for them my customers were so disgusted they moved away from Linn as well.
I stocked a range of top end TT's at the time.

@dover  What you just described tells me you were not an authorized Linn turntable dealer. Linn are very concerned ( rightly or wrongly) about protecting their Linn turntable specialists/stockists.. from their general Linn dealerships. 

@daveyf 
No, I was authorised, invested in Linn set up jigs, training, the whole nine yards. They also pulled the same stunt on some of the other authorised dealers, the distributor simply saw an opportunity to nab all the retail margins for themselves for a new product. Didn't affect me but one of the other authorised dealers had been selling Linn for over 20 years.

ah the moment of truth, and the admission.... maybe???

all I have to say is Linn has poor customer service. They have a distribution center and repair shop about three blocks from where I live. There are no Linn dealers here locally. They were going to make me drive 200 miles to go hear one. Really...... I guess they are not too worried about sales.

I ultimately went to another country and heard one and the dealer was very knowledgeable and a great guy. Unfortunately, my VPI scout had a way more wide open sound than the Linn had probably attributed to the unipivot arm so I could not at the time justify the Linn. He even put my Benz ref s on his table so I could get a good idea of what it would sound like. Well, it sounded fat and sloppy on the Ekos Radical LP12. I think a Lyra would be a good choice for a Linn however I wanted a table that was more neutral. He had a Linn cartridge on the table and it did sound great.

So... I think they do have poor customer service. I just do not think they care that much about the US market.

@tzh21y I think ever since Linn did away with their US distributor, they have been somewhat struggling. IMO, they seem to underestimate the size and expanse of the US. My local fettler is an excellent Linn set up guy, yet they will not allow him to be a ’upgrade’ dealer, only a parts supplier..so long as it is part of a repair. The logic behind this is they are trying to protect their Linn turntable dealer...which makes great sense! EXCEPT this dealer is 200+ miles away! His impact, or the impact on him, is basically non-existant given the number of Linnies locally and the distances involved...yet they are not flexible in this regard...because I believe they have no real comprehension of the distances involved in the state/country. I have to believe that if they comprehended this more, then they would concede to the idea of having experienced Linn folks work and sell the table in all areas of the country. Plus, it would certainly increase their ’good will’ with their customers ( Future and current!).
Therefore, i can comprehend your points in your post-- except for the SQ difference between a fully set-up LP12 Radikal D and a VPI Scout :0)

I am not saying that the scout sounded better than the Linn.  The Linn was better but not by as much as I would have expected.  

They need to be more flexible or just don't sell in the US.  Their distributor was right in my city.  Yet they would not let me listen to a table there.  My friends that are audiophiles with the exception of one thought I was nuts for even looking at a Linn.  I am sure their new tables are far better at holding "the tune" but they believe a table like "example" The Well Tempered Turntable is easily as good as the Linn and does not have the headaches associated with the brand.

We apologize, it’s disappointing to read about (all) your frustrations.  We cannot fix the past, but we are willing to help in anyway that is appropriate.  We are committed to helping you listen to music.

We are a dedicated Linn Specialist that has been serving Kansas City and the Midwest US for over 30 years.  We support all Linn systems and platforms, including LP12, DSM, Aktiv/Exakt and Space Optimization tuning.  We are at your service and appreciate your consideration.  If you are in the Kansas City area, please schedule a time to visit us.  

In-Tone
Dedicated Linn Specialist
Servicing Kansas City and the Midwest US

https://www.in-tone.com
https://www.linn.co.uk/find-a-shop/retailer/3858