Thoughts on the Linn LP12 turntable

"... perform at levels commiserate with their cost..."  Commiserate. Hah! Great typo! 

Belt Drive TT's born from this era, which there are a reasonable amount produced as Models from Brands, were produced at a time when CD was becoming the mainstream hard medium to record music onto.

It would have been ludicrous as a business model, to produce an expensive base model TT, and hope the CD option would not be selected in place of of a expensive TT.

It made much more sense to produce a very affordable TT, which a Belt Drive lens itself to favourably as a design.

Once the TT is in the hands of a New Owner, the real monies are to be accrued through hammering the idea home, that the owned TT is an inferior model unless it is to receive a selection of specific upgrades.

Look at all TT's competing for the same customers from the era of CD becoming the household replay medium.

The endless offering and suggestions of available upgrades, upcoming upgrades was the norm. The media loved a scoop on the next 'add on', the customer spent endless hours in dreamland believing the next plateau of uber HiFi was at their fingertips.

The lucrative side of this market has been so beneficial to Companies, those that are still involved, are using the strategy today for their increased ranges of products that are made available. Their are no shortage of customers, that are sure the upgrade path is a value for money path, and will buy into it with a blind knowledge of the performance and SQ on offer.

Now that is an exceptional influence for any business to have over an individual, especially with the individual showing a willingness to blindly believing the hype, and paying monies readily without reservation to learn the truth, WOW !

The Upgrade Options from certain Brands on their TT Models, Power Supply, Motor Controller, same brand Tonearms and in some cases same brand Cartridges is for some the future plan for their purchases, there is a pride in being able to aspire to follow a path, that the Brand Owners will quite happily imply is a route to Upgrading and Uber High Fidelity.

I have met with the Sales Teams of competing Brands, on many occasions over quite few years in my earliest days of HiFi, with the use of media and contact with a sales team, the purchase of such a TT born from the era was inevitable.

These Companies become very aggressive in their Marketing, placing very well groomed Individuals in prominent positions at events ot fronto of house at retailers adorned in Companies Branding, with a sole purpose of ensnaring the individuals making a general inquiry or expressing a casual interest, and then the follow up, where using what would be referred to as a pressure sale approach that was used by many organisations during the 80's and 90's.

I stand by the fact I purchased a Linn TT back in this era.

For me though, it did not take too long to realise I had bought a TT that was a result of a pressurised decision, the TT Upgrade path was not for me, I was not inspired to maintain this mainstream marketing model.

I was fortunate to have discovered other TT's and really reap the benefits by side stepping the mainstream.

My whole experience in HiFi and building a home system for more than 20 Years is built around side stepping the mainstream, and I am happy with the outcome.         

@markcooperstein How much credence do you give to the members above who have last owned the Linn LP12 forty years ago and are 100% sure that the current Linn LP12 is a poor choice?

Kind of like saying I owned a Ford Mustang in the 70’s and it really is exactly like the 2022 Ford Mustang, which is a lot more money and not worth the price, because my 70’s Mustang was not a great car.

I've always seen LP12's as a giant money pit with 'upgrades' that are actually 'fixes'.  I have an all original Heybrook TT2 built in 1984 with an LVX tonearm.  I've auditioned other tables at home with whatever cart I'm currently using (AT33PTG/II since Christmas) and in the end I end up keeping the Heybrook.  

The last comparison was a Rega Planar 3 and Ania cart.  After a month and a half they were gone.

What's bad?

Stolen design? (AR, Thorens td150, Ariston)

A giant money pit?

Unauthentic timbre?

Dodgy top plates on pre 2000 models?

Needs regular specialist servicing?

Motor mounting issues?

Needs a better arm than the Ittok?

Temporal anomalies?

Outdated design?

Uncompetitively priced?

 

All true in my experience.

 

So what's good about it?

An audiophile icon?

Better bandwidth than budget decks?

Neverending upgrade options?

 

Also true in my experience.

 

So what's the problem then?

 

I believe that its crucial problem is the way that the subchassis is balanced on top of 3 compressed springs, each of them bearing a different load.

Therefore the heavy platter is free to drift over time. Remember that the rather flimsy belt and the pliable arm cable is working with the  springs in keeping the platter/subchassis in position.

 

Whichever way you look at it, it's not a particularly secure way of keeping it there, is it?

Yes, you can use it without an optimal setup, but if you do, it's a very ordinary sounding deck that way.

Very.

To keep its lovely air and bloom, the suspension must be optimised.

And therein lies it's main problem.

 

There's a good video here showing how it's built.

Make of it what you will.