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

I don’t want to pile on top of the heap of LP 12 naysayers, but I guess I will in a way. Regarding the metaphor comparing the LP 12 to a Ferrari, I would say it is more apt to compare the LP 12 to a Morgan sports car. Still doggedly being built in the same way it was built, out of wood, in the 1930s, but with occasional upgrades to make it faster and stiffer. Yet for those who adore it, Morgan sports cars continue to give a great deal of fun and pleasure. That’s the only thing that counts in the end.

@lewm  Interesting perspective...now what is your analogy to the many tube amps that are on the market?

Personal experience- any newer Linn by which I mean made in the last 25 years is a pretty stable machine that is not prone to go out of adjustment.

Setup is key and unfortunately, at least in the US, competent Linn people are few and far between. I’m lucky that I live within an hour of a legit Linn expert.

As as far as maintaining the table- bringing it in once every five years for a tune up seems pretty reasonable to me.

Are there better tables? Sure, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those better tables really are any more enjoyable. The reality is that the LP12 really isn’t any one table- it’s a family of tables.

Davey, I meant no disrespect to Linn or those who love the LP12.  Nor is the analogy to a Morgan sports car in any way meant to be insulting; I just thought it was a better metaphor among auto metaphors, compared to using Ferrari as the paradigm.  As for an analogy to tube-based electronics, you have a point, I suppose.  I'm fine with that.

I've have owned my LP-12 for 20+ years and have followed the upgrade path with Cirkus, Ekos, Trampolin II, and Lingo etc..  I started with the OC 9, then Benz Glider, to a Shelter 90x.  I have toyed with the idea of changing tables over the years but I have stayed focused on the the audio outcome evaluated with my ears and not the "on paper" technical stuff.  That said I have not experienced anything that provided a huge improvement in sound that was worth the additional financial outlay.  That said a Linn with a Keel has a Class A rating when I last read Stereophile as did tables costing far, far more.  I probably have attained 90-95% of what's possible so the cost of attaining the last 5%  just is no longer worth it to me.   The only reason for me to get a new table will be simply because I want one!