Does anyone manufacture an alternative Linn Sondek belt pulley ?

@zavato  +1

How many times the bearing has been redesigned ?

How many times the subclasses has been redesigned ?

How many time have they redesigned the power supply ?

To answer these 3 - fewer times than most other companies have introduced new models. No upgrades are forced. If a new model were introduced every 8 years would that be a con job?

Oh come on - 

Here are some examples - 

Subchassis

strengthened in 74 with spot welded bar

revised again in late 70's

84 changed to glued subclasses rather than welded due to warping and the fact you can't weld junk metal and keep it straight

then we went to the keel ( I'll miss some of the subtle changes in between )

Motor

89 - they actually put a stainless ball in the thrust pad

2 years later they had to add a plastic cap ( with bodgy glue ) to fix the noise they tried to fix 2 years earlier.

now they've gone to DC motor with Radical

Plinth

has been changed multiple times - addition of corner buttresses, glue, thicker material

Suspension springs

changed in 81, again in 86, again in 88 ....

Power supply

pcb changes in the 70's

Valhalla power supply yin 82

2 years later mods to Valhalla power supply

then we get the Lingo

of course there were 4 versions of the Lingo before they got that "right"'

Lingo 1, Lingo 2, Lingo 3, Lingo 4

then the Radical power supply and its "revisions"....

Main bearing

updated in 74 - new liner material

updated again in 87 - new liner again, new thrustpad

87 magic oil ( they suddenly discovered high quality oil )

93 cirkus, then another subhassis upgrade with the cirkus

and on and on...

You could write a 300 page book on Linn upgrades and fixes, and still not cover them all.

Today it is a nice sounding TT but it is not reference grade.

It is a homage to midcentury design - but sadly they now even omit the horizontal grooves in the wooden plinth that gave it that iconic look.

On pricing - I sat down with the Linn importer about 10 years ago - they had just completed a full Linn LP12 upgrade for a customer - the bill was $50k. Today you can buy a Klimax new for $36k - go figure. Whats next for Linn - a pack of Linn spec'd Viagara for the old faithful ?

@dover 

No one seems to complain that the Corvette has been through multiple generations since 1972. I guess they never got that right either. Nor a Porsche 911. 

@zavato 

Corvettes don't handle cornering, they are built for drag strips.

Porsches - I remember when you couldn't get insurance for a Porsche unless you had completed a Porsche drivers course - the handling was so bad. Like the Linn its taken 40 years to get good handling.

And of course Porsche "hobbles" the motors in the lesser models like the Cayman so you can't put the 911 in the shade. 

If you are needing an idler pulley and you have the old one, whether a turntable or tape machine, you can get it rebuilt by Russell Industries for a reasonable price. For many years it was only $35.00; I got a capstan pinch roller rebuilt there for my Ampex 350 transport. That part can be well over $150.00 on ebay. The new roller worked perfectly. I've been using this service for decades.

replacement idlers and rollers plus belts, tires and more