Linn Sondek LP-12 happy/un-happy owners

My vote is for the Linn Sondek a table with excellent timbre, fine detail, and outstanding musicality. I have had an Lp12 since 1983 with little or no trouble. It concerns me when someone finds that they can't keep one in tune though. Sound more like a Linn dealer that is possibly out of tune. In all the years that I have had my table I can only think of one occasion when it fell out of tune in less than one years time, so you shouldn't worry much about that. Do yourself a favor and look at Stereophile: Linn Products LP Playing System, Michael Fremer, November 2003 http://www.stereophile.com/analogsourcereviews/1103linn/index.html it is just one good overall review of the Lp12 as a complete turntable system. Many people over the years have talked about this table because in many ways it (has been/is) a reference standard for more than 30 years. Another interesting aspect of Linn and the Lp12 is that Ivor Tiefenbrun (owner/creator) pretty much single handedly proved to audiophiles of the day how great the analog source component could influence the overall musicality of a Hifi system. That in fact no matter how cool your speakers and amps were, the turntable/tonearm could make a greater difference (note that I did not include the cartridge). My point is... is there a better turntable today? Yes, maybe, and how much will it cost you? I find it interesting that until just a few years ago, most everyone compared their table to this one. Theo, most folks I've meet who run this table down (and they are few and far between) have never owned one. There are some real nice turntables out there today... this is still one of the best. Enjoy!

I purchased my LP-12 used in 2002. It is a 1992 Valhalla model with an Akito arm and a Sumiko Blue Point Special cartridge. My dealer set it up for me and it has been working fine ever since. It has not been moved since it took up residence in my home. It plays music without any fuss or drama. I have not felt the urge to upgrade so it must be doing something right.

I used to own an LP12 with the Cirkus and Valhalla upgrades, I was never really satisfied with it. I sold my LP12 and bought a Teres 255/ET2/Shelter 901 and have not looked back. I have had the Teres for about 2 years now I'm very happy with it and have not even thought about any upgrades so I guess this is saying something about the Teres 255.

Steve.

I have owned an LP12 for a little over 20 years. They don't always go out of tune - my experience is that every 2 years or so it benefits from adjusting the suspension, changing the belt and checking the tonearm cable dressing.

When the Linn was launched the manufacturer cleverly shifted the goalposts by demonstrating the table with what were then quite exotic tonearms (Grace 707, FR64) and moving coil carts.

Until then, the majority of "high end" analog rigs were Japanese direct drives which came fitted with the manufacturer's own tonearm. Most owners fitted mm carts - the V15 MkIII was a popular choice.

The Linn dem'd well and the legend was born. It exploited a lack of knowledge of acoustic isolation.

My own experience is that an old direct drive deck fitted with a decent arm (modified Rega) and isolated on a sandbox shelf sounds better. The Linn sound whilst quite seductive has weaknesses - bass extension and articulation are not that good and there is a boom in the upper bass. The motor is a cheap AC type and speed stability is always an issue.

Set-up is crucial. Fortunately there are many excellent "how to" instruction sets available for free download and if you enjoy tweaking a Linn can be an enjoyable purchase. If you don't want to teach yourself Linn setup then be prepared to fund your Linn dealer's pension plan!

If you want to set and forget a Rega would be a better prospect. Many Linn owners have upgraded to Nottingham Analogue Spacedecks or Roxan Xerxes which offer the same kind of presentation with less drawbacks.

In conclusion, don't think about buyin a LP12 without hearing one and whilst the table has many advocates there are, in reality, better designs out there.

i bought an LP12 with valhalla and ittok initially and was quite pleased for a while. for me (and my ten thumbs), set-up issues plagued that particular table. i heard a basic teres setup and promptly sold the linn as the sound quality bested the linn by an embarassingly large margin. i then had a teres 245 with moerch dp-6 and allaerts mc-1b. unfortunately, my teres had problems of it's own (recurrent motor controller faults, cracked base that had to be replaced, etc. etc.). i now use a modified lenco L-75 with moerch dp-6 arm and denon DL-160 cartridge and have achieved what is easily the best sound (and reliability) to date.
flyingred's concluding remark pretty well sums it up. whatever table/arm/cart combination you eventually decide upon, enjoy the music!