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

@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.

@atmasphere Question.. Have you heard a recent Linn LP12...like an Akurate or a Klimax model? There are a lot of folks who naysay the LP12 because the last time they heard one was about thirty years ago and they heard one that was either 1) not set up correctly or 2) heard a total incompatibility with the rest of the system. Not to mention, there are folks who used to own one way way back in the day, that they set up themselves, and it just didn't sound great...for some unknown reason! Not saying this is you, but this is common on threads about the Linn.

The last time I heard one was a year and a few months ago.  It seemed well- set up; the system in which is was playing sounded very good!

When was the last time you heard a new SL1200G; especially, when was the last time you heard one with an upgraded arm like a Triplanar?

Ralph, what LP12 did you hear that day...a new LP12 Magik, Akurate or Klimax? 

I heard a SL1200G about six months ago, it had the stock arm.That day I also heard a 10R with a 4Point arm, it was a lot better than the 1200G! ( as it should be for the price!!) Neither was that impressive to me, unlike the Basis Inspiration that I also heard that day with the Superarm 9, which was in a totally different league to both Technics. I still think the LP 12 Klimax betters the 10R, never mind the 1200G...I guess YMMV.