Radikal Linn LP12 or Palmer 2.5?

@latenitecity. Great post, and so very true. What you heard was a culmination of the various pieces of gear and the room/ your mood at the time. Would this hold for your current room and gear...who knows? 
When I heard the Palmer, ( on two different occasions) I wasn’t as impressed as I was expecting to be. Probably because of the hype that the dealer ( who I very much respect) had given it before hand. 
Not that the table is bad, just that it really was not better than my experience with the LP12 Magik deck that a friend owns. Again, maybe it was the ancillary gear, also Harbeth ( which btw can sound amazing) or perhaps it was the room..or who knows?  Crazy hobby, like you stated.
As we both know, a home audition of the Palmer in your system would probably be an excellent idea, before committing to buy.

......….Linn also recommends to let the stylus clean the record which nobody else advises either...….I believe the source or cartridge should be upgraded first especially since I already have a Lingo.  After all The Lingo or Radical is performing the same function albeit by means of AC or DC Servo. So the dealer rig bested my table but I extend most of that to the Kandid, Keel, and size of the listening room and then then maybe the Radikal or Ekos SE.  Also my system is all tubes but the dealer used solid state with some phono stage mono blocks which I had never heard of nor afford but the soundstage was absolutely huge and the detail was phenomenal.  I listened to a Pablo recording of Milt Jackson then a re-issue of Ben Webster and Sarah Vaughn.   I would not hesitate to get the Keel/Kandid but would take my time with the Radikal, and/or Ekos SE.  I've had my table for >20 yrs btw  

There is also a Radikal clone .... Mober, it's been getting quite good reviews.. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mober-upgrade-Linn-LP12-CPU-control-DC-motor-PSU-for-turntable/253733568994...

 @xagwell The Radikal increases the speed accuracy and timing over the Lingo. IME, speed accuracy is going to be more audible than what a better cartridge brings. YMMV.

Hi daveyf.  Happy New Year to you! 

Just thought I would circle back here with an update. I think I’ve read (at least twice) just about everything there is to read on the internet about the top of the line Linn and Palmer 2.5 turntables.  I hope to hear the LP12 in a few days and, unless it really blows me away, I think I will be going with the Palmer.  Ultimately, I think the determining factor is that I’m just ready for a change. I recently switched from all Naim electronics after 30 happy years, and am now am very happy with a different type of presentation. Likewise, I moved from a Linn CD player and Linn speakers (again, I was very happy with both for decades) to other brands that make me happy as well - in a different way. So now I’m thinking it may be time to cut the Linn cord altogether and finally step away from my beloved LP12.

I think your advocacy for the Sondek on various forums is the main reason I have taken so long to make up my mind.  (As far as I can tell, you are the only English-speaking person in the world who has done a direct comparison between the current (near) top-of-the-line LP12 and the Palmer/Origami combo who has taken the time to comment on the experience!)

To that point, you have said that the Palmer  was more comparable to Linn’s lower tier Majik model, and that “the LP12 was better at portraying dynamic swings, more precise in its imaging and depth portrayal, better at the high frequency reproduction and at least equivalent in its bass reproduction.” You have also mentioned that the Linn particularly bested the Palmer on jazz recordings.

About two thirds of my fairly extensive vinyl collection is classic acoustic jazz, so this last comment particularly caught my attention. However, I am hoping that the recent improvements that have been made to the Palmer (an upgraded main bearing, motor, and power supply - now called the Palmer 2.5i) will close that gap somewhat. 

Anyway, as I think I mentioned previously, I consider myself very fortunate and truly blessed to have a “problem” like this!  I’m pretty sure there is not a wrong decision to be made here (including, perhaps, the possibility of the Linn deck with the Origami arm). We’ll see.  In any case, thanks yet again for your prior input. It has been most thought provoking and helpful.

Regards,
latenitecity