Is a Linn Sondek LP12/Lingo/Ekos with a Cirkus update, the last turntable I’ll ever buy?

If you could only have one turntable and had to live with it or the rest of your life, then buying one table that has nowhere to go as to upgradeability could be perceived as advantageous!
OTOH, if you wanted a platform on which to build as time goes by and to stay current with the best in analog ability, then the LP12 is far preferable to any Technics. IMHO.

@daveyf 

I guess I don't get this at all. Here's why:https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=vinyl&m=1149409You might have to google 'Technics Triplanar' and click on images to see what I'm talking about: https://www.google.com/search?q=technics+triplanar&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjSq5Hh4f_qAhUW_6wKHQE...

The point is there is a lot you can do to improve the Technics (like add a Triplanar arm to it), but IMO it starts off at a better point than the Linn...

@atmasphere , I agree. I wouldn’t think twice before choosing the Technics before the Linn. Any Technics, the G, the GR etc.


As @lewm said, ’If I wanted to be sarcastic, I might suggest that it is the last turntable you will ever buy, but it might be a prelude to the upgrade-itis that afflicts some Linnies, courtesy of Linn.’

Linn have made a speciality of promoting upgrade-itis. For crying out loud the LP12 has had more ’improvements’ than virtually all the other turntables ever made.

Even now in 2020 they continue to pull the same old scam. All this talk of Linn whisperers, set up jigs, regular dealer involvement etc still gives me the chills. Doesn’t look as if much has changed.

As @chayro said, ’When well set up, it has a really nice sound that many people love.’

This I think is the problem. An LP12 when set-up well, no easy feat, does attain a near mastertape like sound quality, but it mainly depends upon the perfect bounce of its 3 point suspension.

This can be a very uncertain business due to the thick arm cable and the positioning of the motor/belt to steady the sub-chassis whilst in rotation. Of course it will work satisfactorily when just adequately setup but you will not hear what it can truly be capable of.

Furthermore, it was always considered to be at its best when sited upon a table where the vertical bounce could be most effective. Wall shelves can introduce exactly the kind of lateral instability it can handle least well.

It really is vital to get that suspension working as smoothly and freely as possible in a perfectly vertical motion. Once achieved, a whole layer of hash seems to be removed, and the elusive charm of the LP12 comes through.

Not bad for a design based on the Ariston RD11, which itself was based on the Thorens td150 which again was based on the grandaddy of them, the original AR turntable from 1962.

Here’s a rare clip featuring its designer, the legendary Edgar Villchur.

https://youtu.be/OOlAua3tBSw

@atmasphere I guess it depends on whether you believe that the bearing ( or lack thereof) /motor/suspension ( or lack thereof), and overall build quality/SQ is where you want to end up with in regards to the Technics. If so, then sure it is a finished product in that sense. OTOH, once you have bought into the Technics platform, there is no real upgrade path offered ( sure you can change out the arm, but what about the other aspects as time goes by?)
IMHO, it is not a better starting point than a LP12 Majik, and certainly not better than an LP12 Klimax. Obviously YMMV.

@cd318 What you state about the set up of a Linn is also true of any high end turntable, they need to be set up correctly to give off their best. So, and i have said this many times before, if one is looking for a 'plug and play' type of turntable, then the Linn LP12 probably is not for you. The Technics definitely would be far better as a 'plug and play' solution. OTOH, if you want to get much closer to the sound of the master tape ( as you referenced) then IME the LP12 Klimax is far better at getting you there than any Technics I have heard ( and I have heard most of them, including the new 10R and 1000R). 

@daveyf  I've service thousands of turntables over the last 45 years.

The new Technics is nothing like the old SL1200 although it looks the part in every way. I took one apart with an eye to see about building a different plinth for it, and was surprised to see that it was a new design from the ground up (and so decided a new plinth wasn't needed)! So I'm not sure its fair at all to say that there is no upgrade/update path- Technics seems to have belied that comment to some degree. It employs 6 different damping systems in its construction (including a damped platter). Its bearing is nice and quiet to begin with, but there are after-market parts that can be fitted to it as well.


It is certainly more speed stable than most belt drives (and to verify this, use a Sutherland Timeline and see how well whatever 'table under test is able to keep the lazer dot from moving...). We used to make a turntable called the model 208 (since it looks for all the world like an Empire 208) and I would have no problem expecting that to run circles around any Linn, but I'll also be the first to tell you that the Technics is a better machine- its plinth is both dead and rigid, essential to prevent colorations, and its one of the most speed-stable machines available. None of that 'cogging' nonsense either.