Linn LP-12 still competitive with the very best?

on paper, you can make a case that there are many, many better turntables old and new. 'no table' however (flawed or not)has made a worldwide emotional connection to more vinyl junkies than the linn. even today,its 'an enigma with an attitude' that plays a flawed media close to perfection.....an aside, I'm a thorens person and prefer lots of their models over a 124.

Never. I think, there is worse out there, but at the moment I don't know what.

It certainly doesn't get the press like it used to. My lp 12 upgraded was as good as the Notinghams,vpi,sota which I have also owned. I kept searching for better and found that it wasn't the table but the weak phono stages. I wish I had the linn lp 12 with my dartzeel preamp

The LP-12 is a good enough turntable. My personal experience included endless upgrades and revisions which left me more and more dissatisfied. I went back to using an idler driven Dual 1229 which was completely rebuilt and then installed a Grace 747 tonearm. I love the pace, pitch and power of idler drive, especially with solo piano and small jazz ensembles. The Thorens TD-124 is an amazing turntable and if you are into swaping out arms at a moments notice, the arm board on the 124 is a jewel to change. I have also recently heard a properly set up Garrard 301 with the Shindo platter mods. Wow! If you have the opportunity, seek out a Garrard 301 with the Shindo mods and give it a listen. You may never want to hear anything else.

Well over the course of 1957 to present and having damn near owned ever table out there at one time or another as well as the Linn menetioned in this thread. I contiune to return to VPI turntables for many reasons.

The build quality is second to none, the upgrade path is there should one want to go that route. Straight out of the box they work as intended. Parts, service and advice just a phone call away. Solid dealer network. Stand behind their product.

When one considers all the parameters one needs to have for the analog medium, VPI stands at the top of my list.