Linn Bedrok LP12 Plinth Upgrade

Davey, You said you can put your stylus into the lead in groove and there is dead silence.  All I am saying is that should be the case for any decent turntable at normal listening levels, because one ought not to hear bearing noise (even though bearing noise is undoubtedly present at some very low level below the signal) with any decent turntable. And of course the Linn is much better than "decent". 

In regard to Mylogic's subsequent comment, some LPs and some cartridges are more prone than others to pick up what some call "pre-groove echo".  Pre-groove echo is often audible at a very low level when the stylus is seemingly between cuts but is really entering into the grooves for the next cut.  So that could seem like you are hearing "information" between grooves.

@lewm

Pre-groove inter-modulation.

Yes that can be easily a case if a heavily modulated track is present perpendicular to where the stylus is tracking. There is some heat generated by the cutting stylus which can meld into the adjacent track….the echo effect you rightly mentioned.

l am not talking about this but about a sound (nothing to do with any iner-modulation) that is totally alien to anything recorded intentionally. I am just listening funnily enough and l am hearing this ‘nub’ between every track of Quincy Jones’s soundtrack of ‘In Cold Blood’ RCA RD-7931 (1967)

Another example from memory is Manfred Mann’s original soundtrack to ‘Up the Junction’ again from the 60s on Fontana label which was where l first noticed this.

Strange but true…..

One other thought to share….

l always tell friends to use Dire Straits ‘Love Over Gold’ album as a test record for a whole Hi-Fi system. If You can’t hear the breaking milk bottle in the ‘Private Investigations’ track, your Hi-Fi is not as ‘Hi’ as you think. If that breaking milk bottle is not there, then it is most likely the front end is just not retrieving it.

@lewm  While you might expect that a dead silence be portrayed by any decent table when placing the stylus into the lead in groove, you might be surprised how rare that experience is. I have heard numerous high end tables that cannot do this 'trick' even though they are set up correctly. All of my prior tables and even my LP12 with Cirkus, could not manage this. There was always a slight noise from the speakers, not complete silence. 

@mylogic  While I agree with you that the Dire Straits breaking milk bottle is a test, it is a very low lying test. IMO, you would have to have a pretty veiled set up to miss that part of the track. A better test would be whether your system can portray depth, intimacy and scale...which very very few can. Scale in particular is very hard to portray, usually requiring a large space and large speakers with excellent dynamic contrast. In my many years as a hobbyist, I can count on one hand systems that can portray scale, depth and intimacy...all three. Most folks think their systems can portray these things, in reality most portray ( at best) one of the three.

I have bought my LP12 with cirkus and lingo 12 years ago. Now it features Karousel akurake Radikal 2 keel Ekos se Mutech Hayabusa and Duo Sutherland phono stage. I had to move the deck out of the wall mount and decided to try the Audiosilente mushrooms. I don’t feel particular improvements nor decrease in performance. My ears may be aging more than I thought. I love the LP12 and I can adjust the suspensions easily and without the need for skilled feddlers. I actually prefer to look after it myself. I have no particular DIY skills. It’s up to the user way of enjoying this hobby. If you are the eternally unsure person about your deck performance just go for a technics direct drive. 

@daveyf

Dire Straits Private Investigations ‘’breaking milk bottle’’ and ‘‘intimacy’’ test with a pussy….yes there is a ‘musical’ one in there. Knopfler implies with his guitar that a cat knocks over said milk bottle.

It is quite a good test because lots of people have that LP.

It can be useful for example if you can hear it on head phones but not on your main speakers. You would know better speakers are required (or the opposite of course)

Also a great trackability test for a cartridge.

Hearing the breaking glass is not the only consideration either….it is how clear and distinctive it is in the mix. Is it only just audible or is it right there in the alleyway. Also there is a lot going on in that recording and most people just miss it. I mention this as just one test for setting up speakers to achieve all the 3 goals you described.