Linn Bedrok LP12 Plinth Upgrade

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.

@mylogic  The interesting thing that occurs to me is that in this hobby, many times folk are not aware of the failings, or shortcomings, of their systems. Only upon an exposure to what they are missing can they discover what is either a) missing from their systems portrayal or b) a solution to the issue. 

Unfortunately, since it is just as easy to go backwards in system development as it is to go forwards, the opportunity for doing more damage is there. 

For example, I have heard on many occasions, folk whose rooms are not able to develop accurate bass, or more intimacy in quiet recordings...utilize fixes that are detrimental and result in even less pleasant sound. Sometimes these very same folk realize the error and rectify it, most times they do not...and the system begins to go down a slippery slope. Easy to do. 

@mylogic

My early series 401 (with the flush mount strobe light) was mounted in the huge ‘SME Plinth System’. The plinth base and depth was so big to accomodate the widest and deepest decks. The cover was of similar height to the plinth and designed to take the tallest 9 and 12’’ arms

I am wondering if the SME plinth I was given with my Garrard 301 is an example of the huge SME Plinth System?  At first glance, it has stepped sides, a floating deck and is essentially hollow with just a flimsy hardboard base.

The Garrard 301 does include six springs positioning its motor in space, and each spring is damped by a rubber tube around its middle.  Garrard also intended that the 301 should be mounted on a deck which is spring mounted to a plinth.  Garrard supplied the springs but not the deck, nor the plinth.  My SME plinth has long corner-mounted threaded rods which sit in the springs and can be adjusted by twisting four attached knobs above the deck.

The deck is damped at each corner by soft foam blocks, so lowering the deck increases the damping.  Nevertheless, the springing is nowhere near as soft or as "long travel" as an LP12

@richardbrand

Yes Richard, you have the SME Plinth System l mentioned. You could buy all the parts separately. When l bought the 401 from a friend he had the deck mounted on a hi-fi bench with just the Perspex lid. As he was an electrical engineer he was able to order me just the base and counter spring hinges to make the full system.

All your descriptions confirm this…. sides progressively bigger from the base up. Four large rod spring adjusters with black knobs to level the sub-chassis in each corner. Silver trim 360 degrees around sides. Very heavy cover with counter balanced spring assembly to keep the lid up. Holes in the back for mains and RCA cables. It was a MONSTER and could creak at times (thick grease on spring bases fixed this).The sub-chassis did not bounce very much and was quite rigid. The 401 needed a really substantial plinth and this construction was the best option available. We now know solid granite or very heavy wooden bases do the job much better.

Everything is as you describe. There are always some on eBay in the UK as more were sold here of course. The classic Garrard set up in the early 70s in the UK was considered to be….

Garrard 401

SME 3009 or the 3009 improved

Shure V15 mkII or mkIII (or Goldring G800 or G850, but they didn’t track so well)

SME Plinth System.

There has always been a debate on which was the best of the two turntables. It comes down to personal choice in appearance or operational preference. Underneath there was little design difference. The 401 would clunk a lot using the twist start/stop control. The corner levers of the 301 were easier. BBC DJs would normally position the stylus half a revolution from the start of the track next to be played and the 301 was much easier to engage the motor and supposedly had quicker motor up to speed performance.

The BBC STORY

The 301 was the standard BBC radio turntable in the 60s and was the most loved by the pioneering DJs. The 401 was intended to replace these radio stations 301s as Garrard wanted to maintain this status of suppliers of said turntables.It backfired on Garrard as the DJs demanded that the 301s be retained and put back because the 401 was not so easy to use. The DJs preferred the controls and quicker take up speed performance of the 301. The batch of 401s l was told were re-boxed and then just chucked into a corner of a room somewhere. About 12 years ago someone was selling four mint 401s in their original boxes on eBay saying they did a BBC clearance on old gear that were ‘surplus to requirements’. I remembered all this and was able to tell the seller as to how they found their way there. I informed him of this story and he was selling each one far too cheaply (about £600 each) ……..l should have bought them all myself.

UPDATE

l don’t believe the SME Plinth System appeared until the 401 was in production so your model 301 was probably rehoused. SME would cut out the sub-chassis to your chosen turntable and SME arm model position if requested.