The new Linn LP12 50th Anniversary edition


Linn have just announced their 50th anniversary edition LP12. See here:linn.co.uk/us/

The price is going to be starting at $60K.

 

Looks nice, but the price, like so much in the industry these days, seems to be what they used to call ' a thumb suck' number.

Thoughts??

128x128daveyf

The greatest benefit of a free market is that if you don’t see the value, you don’t have to buy it.  Good luck Linn.  

If you can’t afford one, go for it.

To me, there is nothing appealing about this TT that can justifies its tag price of $60K even if I have money to burn! IMHO, there are much better options out there in $60K range or below that are primed for bragging rights 😊

@lalitk   +1

 

Where Linn get the idea that their Anniversary 50th LP12 equates to a $60K price tag is beyond me? 

 

However, like always, they probably figure that there are folk with money to burn who will pony up for this model. This kind of segue ways into my thread in the speaker section wherein I asked, is there a price that a manufacturer can ask that will be too much, resulting in zero sales...seems that there is not???

A couple comments. The nouveau riche would not buy a $60K Linn… they wouldn’t get it. They would buy something flashy.

The Linn 50th, is say $15K for nostalgia. There are folks for which this makes sense.

Yes, arbitrarily marking up an high end item has a limit. Let’s say you marked it up to $100K… it would get trashed in the professional journals, and they might sell one or two. Loosing money on the effort, and jeopardizing their reputation. Companies that have stood the test of time do so by being careful and making sure the performance / cost ratio remains positive.

I have had the privilege of buying some “luxury goods”, and the thing I walked away with was that the performance / cost ratio was always much greater than I expected. This is the key to pricing items. For instance I had to decide between another Toyota Avalon or a Lexus. I chose the Lexus. Holy cow, the benefits so outweighed the $10K it wasn’t funny. Luxury goods that do not outperform die… except for watches for some reason.

 

And then there are the @noromance types that have old stuff and think it doesn’t get better. We all have our journeys. My experience had been that audio components have improved leaps and bounds over the last fifty years. And Linn has put in the engineering effort to bring that to their sound quality. A friend of mine is restoring an old Garrard. I am looking forward to hearing it. My experience to date has been that newer stuff of audiophile quality sounds better. 
 

Who knows, maybe I will be talked into buying an old 1960’s turquoise clock radio because of it;s great sound.

@ghdprentice   Your post makes sense, except it might assume that there is no direct competition for the Linn 50th at its asking price. Problem is, at least IME, there is competition at and slightly above this price point that will put the Linn to shame. On another forum, i mentioned that I recently heard a super nice Basis Inspiration with the Superarm 9 arm...similar piece point ( albeit the Basis was slightly higher, but not that much) and the Basis was in an entirely different league to any LP12 I have ever heard. The new SME 60 also is at this LP12's price point, I know which one i would entertain, and it is NOT the LP12.