Thoughts on the Linn LP12 turntable

After having been influenced by Art Dudley, I bought a Garrard 401, and did a DIY overhaul. I built a plinth that I love, put a Dynavector 501 arm on it, and have been enjoying it for years.

The 401's are not fussy, built very robustly, and sound great.                        

I have owned the Garrard 401, it is the TT that was able to move myself away from using the Belt Drive TT's. I do not recall the desire to try out other Belt Drive TT's in my system once moved over to the Idler Drive.

The 401 ended up seated on a '9 Stone' Granite Plinth.

A PTP Solid 9 is its replacement today but not its betterment, each have their merits in the realm of Vintage Idler Drive Systems. Each Idler Drive method, are also now able to be modified with a modern design approach where materials are able to be used that are produced with improved machining tolerances and potentially have a beneficial impacts on the overall function of the original design.   

I have an Ariston Rd11. There are many accounts of how this design was “stolen” by Igor Tiefenbraum, I am not sure if the whole story will ever come out.

Multiple Parts that were produced for the Ariston Deck and the earliest Linn Decks were produced on the same premises that was carrying out the machining.

The Ariston and Linn are allegedly sharing parts in the Linn’s earliest build guise, the Ariston was a Branded and Successfully Marketed TT, prior to the first produced Linn Deck.

This is a fable that is voiced regular within the British Isles. I only know this version of the origins, through handed down story telling.

The reality is the founders of Linn were inspired to create a marketable product, which they did, they have now 50 Years on, developed a Brand that is household across the globe that as a business is turning over £ 1 000 000 000 per annum.

This type of story is not restricted to one British Brand, Rega have had their earliest RB Tonearm designs, become the bedrock products of many Companies that offer sale items based on the Rega RB Tonearm Design.

I’m not knowing how successful these Companies Sales are in comparison to Rega, when it comes to turnover solely from a Tonearm sale.

My old table was never replaced after a move killed it (old Dual something), so about 10 years ago or so I bought a nice old Linn Basik with an Akito arm for 500 bucks...thought it would do until I found something better. Changed out the tonearm cable to a really well made Jelco Canare and it’s quiet as a mouse. Had it tuned up last year at Goodwins (surprisingly inexpensive as all I thought I needed was damping fluid in the cue lever) and it’s still here. My Ortofon Quintet Blue MC sounds sweet...even the Goodwin’s tuneup dude thought it sounded great (that was with a Quintet Red) and he could have sold me something for multiples of what the Basik might be worth...at this point the thing has earned its place. Might try a Linn Majic as I can get an interesting color, but am in no hurry.

LInn was very good, groundbreaking in its time (early 70s in fact OP).  In the 70s I had an original spec LP12/Ittok.  But all the upgrades do not and cannot make a silk purse because advancement can only be achieved within the envelope of the original design now almost 50 years old.  To pay £30,000 for a Linn today is madness but some still do it.

Against that, in principle Linn is right to keep it simple.  All today's over-engineered blingy record players have long lost the principle that we are simply playing records.  I want none of it.

I have had three Simon Yorkes starting in the 80s replacing the Linn and each has been a massive improvement over the Linn and the previous.  They leave the Linn in the dirt without idiotic engineering bling.  Remember SY was Fremer's reference for 8 years.  Those of us who have the few he built are very fortunate.

I spent many hours in the 1980s setting up LP12s. Despite the quasi religious fervour surrounding them, I never liked the sound. Ironically, despite Linn going on about PRAT, the LP12 never sounded right temporally. And when a company introduces a tool to straighten bolts that should have been straight (peripendicular) in the first place, you really have to ask questions. I moved of from there to a Roksan Xerxes which, while finnicky about setup itself, was much better sounding.

In the intervening time, Linn have pretty much reengineered/redesigned most of the turntable and have addressed a lot of its original weaknesses. However, the price of doing so has put it into competition with a lot of very fine turntables indeed.

As a concluding remark, the Linn tonearms were much better engineered/toleranced than the deck, the Ittok had one major ergonomic flaw in the very limited range of vertical motion available when cueing. This, combined with the bounciness of the suspension, made the deck horrible to use - for me at least.