The Linn is a very musical table, and that is the best way to describe it. There isn't any one particular "audiophile" category that jumps out, with the exception of PRaT. It excels at PRaT. The resolution is very good, but not great. There is a slight warm "bloom" in the midbass, and the deep bass is not the best, but it's good. It is a very enjoyable TT to listen to, because you don't concern yourself with "audiophile neuroses", you just listen to the music and have fun. While it is not the "last word" in audiophile terms, it is a very nice TT and would be good enough to be a "final purchase" in TTs if you weren't obsessive about having the state-of-the-art. It was the best you could get, at one time, and many of the newer designers of audiophile TTs learned about TT design from studying the Linn. It probably had more impact on the future of turntables than any other TT made. Many people dislike Linn because of their "snooty" sales practices, and disparage the product because of that. I feel that is unfair, because the TT stands on its own merits as a good TT, regardless of the sales practices of its dealers. The attitude was rather like the Harley Davidson unofficial motto. "If you ain't got a Linn, you ain't got Sh*t." This offended alot of people.
Good turntable equipped for about 700 dollars?
I'm just now embarking on opening my ears to vinyl, and could really use some advice on purchasing a turntable and all that is needed to make it work. I'm using a Rogue 66 preamp, Proac 2.5 speakers, several different amps right now. What I'd like are recommendations in the $600-$700 used range for the whole shabang (TT, tonearm, and cartridge). Right now, top contendors are the usual Rega P3-2000 and MMF-7 (if I wait long enough for a used one). The VPI 19-Jr looks great, but it may be above my cost limit. What about Linn or older Thorens models? Any other suggestions in this price range? Thanks much.
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- 15 posts total
- 15 posts total