Any experience with the new Linn Sondek upgrades?

Rgurney,
There is not a Linn dealer on the planet who will throw in a Cirkus, if you check with Kinsekd I think you will find he threw in for the Cirkus.

To me the Cirkus should be at the top of the upgrade list for every Sondek Lp12 owner. It is by far the most cost effective/sonic improvement offering available, hands down.

Happy Listening!

Rgurney's point is well taken, you certainly don't have to use Linn tonearms or cartridges on an LP12. But I think some caution is in order with respect to tonearms.

A lot of newer tonearms are quite heavy (e.g. the SME and higher range Origin Live)compared to the Ekos, and these don't work optimally with the LP12's suspension. And an Ekos II is a great tonearm, and purchased used is a very good buy at around $1500. I really don't think one can find a better tonearm in this price range for an LP12.

Cartridges are a different matter altogether - no limitations here. I actually think the Akiva is amazingly good (made by Lyra) but not cheap. The Klyde is nice enough (made by Goldring), but over priced by a few hundred dollars. The entry level Adikt (around $350) is very compelling for the money - actually my favorite mm cartridge.

I think Art Dudley of Stereophile, who is also a long time owner of the Sondek Lp12, summed it up quite nicely in the October issue.

I also agree with Mr. Sayles and Mr Newmanoc.I have a fully loaded LP 12 minus the SE upgrades. The money Linn wants for the SE upgrades, in my opinion, would be better spent on a altogether different turntable. For that kind of scratch Linn has successfully priced themselves right out of the market. I would like to add that there are turntable companies out there with a much better customer oriented approach.

The TW Raven, VPI HR-X will all crush the Linn at that price. The upgrade seems like an utter waste of money; and I have an LP12 with Ekos, etc. Yes, the table can be made to sound better, but it has fundamental design flaws that the other tables have overcome a long time ago. Instead of redesigning the table from scratch, which is what it should have done, Linn has come up with a bunch of retroactive changes that are exorbitantly priced.