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Previously happy LP12 owners who moved on.....

Fergus said:
I had never owned an LP12 so had no reason to read this thread and I’m glad I hadn’t had one as I didn’t get sucked into the upgrade hype. However just this past weekend I bought my first LP12 from another Scottish member of this forum, thanks, and I think it’s very good, as good in many ways as some of the other turntables I have enjoyed over the past 50 years but with its own strengths. The only upgrades I would contemplate would be a new stylus, or cartridge and maybe the “mushroom” suspension modification as my arthritic hands get worse.
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You don't need to get sucked into upgrading - my LP12 is still the same configuration as it was when it left the factory in 1973.
 
Tony L said:
Many LP12s here are really the equivalent of monster trucks or choppers. They are almost entirely built from after-market/third-party parts and can no longer be viewed as an LP12 of any era in any real sense. They are an expression of the owner’s personality, not a defined hi-fi product. Nothing inherently wrong in this, folk can obviously customise their stuff however they like, and it can be a fun hobby in its own right, but take all the third-party parts and supports out of the equation and these threads would be a lot shorter!
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I'm not so sure you can build a LP12 using almost entirely third party parts. Most people will require the basics ( & use ) of the Linn LP12, the motor, bearing, inner platter (& outer platter), belt, mounting bolts, springs & grommets, top plate, base board (Like Trampolinn) & many will use a LInn arm & cable & possibly a Linn cartridge. Of course don't forget the lid & hinges!

As for the plinth there are cheaper (& more expensive!) plinths to be had (if you need one). That leaves the power supply & subchassis which most will change to & some will fit a aftermarket top plate. So given the parts that are needed for a Sondek seems in favour of the Linn. Of course you can go mad with a plinth, psu, arm, cartridge, top plate & baseboard, subchassis not to mention specially treated suspension springs or Audio Silente bushes & if you fancy, a Mober bearing & inner platter & a VP outer platter. Whilst all these options are available I doubt this is grabbed in great demand.
 
Mr Pig said:
No, you can actually build an LP12 like deck out of entirely aftermarket parts. It's the Stratocaster of the turntable world.
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Well I was going to say Tangerine Audio or Stack Audio but they both need the bearing, inner platter/outer platter, spring kit, belt & motor. I do realize that alternative motors are available like the Origin Live DC & any of the AC ones are effectively what Linn use. I don't know but would it be a fool that went down this route pretending they have a Sondek on the "cheap"? To be honest haven't the Chinese copied it yet for a few hundred quid, shipping the whole thing as self assembly?
 
per-Sony-fied said:
Well I was going to say Tangerine Audio or Stack Audio but they both need the bearing, inner platter/outer platter, spring kit, belt & motor.
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Mober do a bearing, there is also a stainless steel platter, blue springs and none of the nuts and bolts are a problem as Linn never did make any of those. You can buy them on eBay.

I don't know why no one has released a copy of the whole deck. As long as they call it something else there is nothing Linn could do about it.
 
Mr Pig said:
Mober do a bearing, there is also a stainless steel platter, blue springs and none of the nuts and bolts are a problem as Linn never did make any of those. You can buy them on eBay.

I don't know why no one has released a copy of the whole deck. As long as they call it something else there is nothing Linn could do about it.
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Most of which I mentioned in my post. I bet the blue springs are just Linn springs coated. Also I'm not sure why you'd want to go from a single point bearing to one like the Mober. This is not a very popular choice.
 
per-Sony-fied said:
Most of which I mentioned in my post. I bet the blue springs are just Linn springs coated. Also I'm not sure why you'd want to go from a single point bearing to one like the Mober. This is not a very popular choice.
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Popularity has nothing to do with it. I said it was possible to build an LP12-like turntable with no Linn parts. I didn't say it was a good idea.
 
Mr Pig said:
Popularity has nothing to do with it. I said it was possible to build an LP12-like turntable with no Linn parts. I didn't say it was a good idea.
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I guess I have to eat my words on this one :oops: However I stick to my original post of the reply to Tony I doubt there's many whom dabble would go this far down the route & these so called monster trucks are still mostly consisting of Linn parts although given some of the major (big) changes that most would do it would seem like this.
 
I'm amazed to hear that for 30 years Colin Macey and Derek Jenkins never set up my Sondek properly. With all the upgrades and new cartridges, that must have been an expensive bunch of incompetent setting up.

When Urika removed the stiff arm cable we were told that the crucial effect of arm cable dressing was no longer necessary because the Radikal was so good. You don't have to be an engineer to smell a rat there. After that my skepticism about Sondek-whispering kicked in hard.

Yet, my old mushroomed Lingo 1 Sondek was used at a CH Precision open day six months ago and I had reports that everybody was amazed by how good it sounded. While that set-up alp looks majestic in the distance, I'm happier in the foothills.

My current Sondek sounds great with Stack Alto, Karousel and mushrooms. I can set it up easily now. It has quite a good tone-arm too.
 
sonddek said:
"...my old mushroomed Lingo 1 Sondek was used at a CH Precision open day six months ago and I had reports that everybody was amazed by how good it sounded. While that set-up alp looks majestic in the distance, I'm happier in the foothills.

My current Sondek sounds great with Stack Alto, Karousel and mushrooms. I can set it up easily now. It has quite a good tone-arm too."
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Sounds like our decks are very similar specification - excepting the different tonearms. 😉

Okay, I just spotted that you are NOT running a hot-rodded DC motor like we are.
 
sonddek said:
I agree - there is nothing Hamish could do. Whoops ;-)
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Linn designed the thing, not Hamish Robertson. If you look at the facts of the whole situation this is very obvious. I'm no fan of what Linn have become, or even were back then, but they did not steal this turntable.
 
sonddek said:
I'm amazed to hear that for 30 years Colin Macey and Derek Jenkins never set up my Sondek properly. With all the upgrades and new cartridges, that must have been an expensive bunch of incompetent setting up.

When Urika removed the stiff arm cable we were told that the crucial effect of arm cable dressing was no longer necessary because the Radikal was so good. You don't have to be an engineer to smell a rat there. After that my skepticism about Sondek-whispering kicked in hard.

Yet, my old mushroomed Lingo 1 Sondek was used at a CH Precision open day six months ago and I had reports that everybody was amazed by how good it sounded. While that set-up alp looks majestic in the distance, I'm happier in the foothills.

My current Sondek sounds great with Stack Alto, Karousel and mushrooms. I can set it up easily now. It has quite a good tone-arm too.
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Yes, I heard the above LP12 through a wonderful CH Precision / Musicworks / Fink team set up and was amazed that anyone could get a tune from a Lingo 1.
 
sonddek said:
I'm amazed to hear that for 30 years Colin Macey and Derek Jenkins never set up my Sondek properly. With all the upgrades and new cartridges, that must have been an expensive bunch of incompetent setting up.

When Urika removed the stiff arm cable we were told that the crucial effect of arm cable dressing was no longer necessary because the Radikal was so good. You don't have to be an engineer to smell a rat there. After that my skepticism about Sondek-whispering kicked in hard.

Yet, my old mushroomed Lingo 1 Sondek was used at a CH Precision open day six months ago and I had reports that everybody was amazed by how good it sounded. While that set-up alp looks majestic in the distance, I'm happier in the foothills.

My current Sondek sounds great with Stack Alto, Karousel and mushrooms. I can set it up easily now. It has quite a good tone-arm too.
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That's as maybe but according to the LP12 police on here your mushroomed LP12 is not an LP12 so your views probably don't count ;)
 
I must be an outlier because I‘ve been able to get tunes out of all my LP12 configurations that included, Ittok, Ekos, Lingo1, Cirkus, springs and In-Soles.
 
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