linn sondek tt

daveyf,

Dear Linn LP12 friend,

Bought my LP12 in October 1988. It has served me well.

Cirkus bearing, Lingo (1) power supply, Ekos tonearm, The latest phono cable, trampoline II and totally gone over and tuned by Tom O'Keefe of Ovature Audio in Ann Arbor, MI. The Best Linn Tech left in the USA, IMHO.

The Kuzma is better built (better machining), PS is better build, 12" VTA arm is two full steps ahead of the Ekos arm - Fine adjustment of azimuth, VTA on the Fly, quieter bearings, Just plays better than then Ekos. I have heard the SE Ekos in a full blown Linn rig while Tom worked on my table. Yes, The Full Blown Linn rig does sound great; Not $25,000 great.

I bought a Technics SL1200G at Axpona 2018, Had it shipped to atmasphere (Ralph), He built and mounted the new arm board, Tri Mai built and mounted the Triplanar Classic SE tonearm. Brian Walsh mounted the Lyra Kleos   Sorry, Davey, This rig takes down the Linn/Radikal. BTW, Tom barely was able to mount the Kleos to the Ekos arm. Technics has better speed control than the Radikal, Triplanar arm is in a different league than either the Ekos SE or the Kuzmz 12" VTA arms. Zero problems mounting Lyra Kleos to Triplanar arm. VTA on the Fly, azimuth adjustment, better bearings, One continuous wire from cartridge pins to terminations. Forget the felt mat on the Linn; Oracle Hard Acrylic mat now on the Technics. HRS 315gr record weight. 

Kuzma Rig = $9700 with new Dynavector XX2 mk II

Technics/Triplanar/Kleos Rig = $13,700

That’s really interesting as I went to listen to a friends Technics SP10 iii the other day and was completely gonsmacked by the sound.  

Love to 

@nkonor  I have a friend who has the Technics SL1200G. We have AB'ed it against my Linn...result, he is now trying to sell the Technics and buy into the entry level LP12 Magik! 
I happen to agree with you, the Triplanar arm is a superb arm, and one that I think is superior to the Ekos SE....Unfortunately, that is not the only part of this equation.The LP12 is a FAR FAR superior sounding platform to the Technics ( I actually way prefer it to the new Technics SL1000 as well). The LP12 Radikal is somewhat let down by the Ekos SE, but take a look at the arm I am using with the LP12 Radikal D, it kills the SE and all others on this table...Superb match up with my Kleos.

@nkonor. I noticed again that misinformation is prevalent with this table. Your post states you owned a Lingo...presumably the shoe box model. That model is miles away from the current model with a Radikal D. You then state you heard at Thomas’ place a full Radikal LP12..and that was great sounding, but not for $25k! Here’s the thing, you can get a Akurate model with Radikal D and a Ekos Se with a Kleos for about the same money as your Technics with Triplanar...IME, that rig will easily see off the Technics.

I agree with nkonor.  The Linn sound is outdated to my ears.  I would say if you are a tinkerer, buy one used.  I recently heard an old Kenwood DD turntable at a friends house with an old SME 3009 and a shure cartridge that would give the Linn a battle.  I think he is going to sell it for like 500.00.  They are good tables used if you like the Linn sound and can get it at a good price.  

Personally, I would say the Technics table trounces the Linn all day long.

I heard a fully Radicalized Linn and came home and listened to my VPI scout and felt it had more presence than the Linn. Now thats a 1600.00 table vs. at the time a 20K table.  Thats just not good enough and Linn should be ashamed to sell a table for that much considering a scout betters it in some ways.  At 20K it should not in any way.  Not good.  My scout is the old acrylic platter version.  RU kidding me... 

What happens when you go from a 120 gram record to a 200 gram record?  Does it go out of TUNE?  What happens when a cold front goes through, the humidity changes, etc.  I have friends who have gone from one record to another and encountered massive differences in sound. One record sounds great, the next record sounds completely wrong?  Not good in this day and age.  One thing I will say is the Linn is a very nice table to look at.