linn sondek tt

What is the cost of a fully tricked out Linn today with the ’right’ upgrades, arm, etc.?
I first heard one in the early seventies at Opus One in Pittsburgh, a hi-line salon that was really the mindspring of Tasso Spanos, a brilliant, quirky guy who sold equipment he thought sounded good- at the time of the Linn, he was the ARC dealer and introduced the Dahlquist. The Linn was very lively, very musical, but we’re talking about a musical memory of more than 40 years ago.
When I lived in Brooklyn Heights in the ’80s, Innovative was a huge Linn dealer- I don’t know if they were the biggest in the States, but man, they were fully on board with the whole Linn experience. I heard some good systems there.
I know you are a staunch advocate of the Linn table on the forums Davey, but perhaps other people have other directions? I’ve had several very good tables in my systems over the years. Every one, along with arm, isolation and of course cartridge, sounded different.
The one thing that seems to be a big variable with Linn is set-up.
I know with other tables, set up is key.
My sense, whatever the merits of the table today, is that it has been overshadowed by other things in the marketplace. Whether or not those others are truly better, I’ll leave to those who have owned the Linn and moved on. Depending on the price of a full-on Linn it may also no longer be competitive. If I were going to spend a big sum on a table today (apart from the one I have), I’d be interested in hearing the EMT 927.

@whart It is true, I am an advocate of the Linn table, simply because I do not like to see this excellent table decried by folks who really have little to no experience with the most recent versions. Instead, what I see are folks who are putting in their two cents based on their recollection of the table from twenty years ago or more, and from others who have absolutely no experience with it whatsoever, but are only too happy to naysay it.
Yes, the set up is crucial, but most Linn dealers were adept at that, and those that weren’t were usually able to direct you to someone who was. Problem is, that a lot of folks in the old days thought they knew how to do the set up themselves, leading to poor performance. These folks wouldn’t admit they had done anything wrong, so why not just blame the tool...or in this instance the design of the table.
I can tell you, I have owned this table in one form or another for over thirty years, and never have I been tempted to trade it in on a VPI or similar. If you understand the basics of how to place the table, and how to move it if necessary, all of the ‘issues’ that we hear about it going out of tune go by the wayside. OTOH, if you don’t follow some basic rules, then a more plug and play option, perhaps like the VPI or the SOTA’s will be more rewarding for you.

 @stringreen  Please tell me how you moved your Linn once the set up was completed. What protocol, if any did you use. There is a way to transport a suspension based table, fail to do that and all bets are off. Plus, again, I am assuming that the set up was done correctly in the first place, an assumption that has proven faulty on numerous occasions with this table. Did your Linn dealer or rep do the set up, or was it somebody else...you?

I myself would not mind a Linn as a 2nd table.  The do have their virtues.  Just because I said the scout bettered the Linn Radical in some ways does not mean that the scout was better.  The Linn was better but it cost between 18 and 20K.

Their is a six part video on Youtube describing how to set up a Linn.  Thats way too many videos for a setup of a table, especially when they cost upwards of 6K new at the low end.  Time is money and I would rather be listening than fiddling with the Linn.  However, if I could find one for a reasonable price, I like to tinker once in a while.

Davey.....on a pogo stick ----how else.    your comments are silly.