Selling the chassis without the plinth to me would imply that there was no such sound and that the early LP12 is just a Thorens 150 with a few tweaks and a beefier bearing.
If this is a chassis only LP12 ( and I have ads that confirm this possibility) then it opens up an interesting question around how the LP12 was designed and the idea that Ivor always had a kind of 'Linn sound' which differed fundamentally from that of the competition.
Did you really believe that?
I can imagine customers in the late 70's & early 80's believing the hype & the reviewers but a cursory look at one revealed very quickly that it was no more than a reworked Thorens or similar (maybe slightly better executed than the 150 or 160) and that there was no way the component parts used could conjure some huge & magical difference from nowhere.
I believed it for a long while - certainly into the mid 90s.
However i'd never actually pulled an early one apart until now, and its pretty disappointing in terms of the engineering. Sounds good though.
Here's a nice picture of my first ever LP12
Very nice. I like to see Rega arms on the Linn ;0)
I assume you've noticed but don't you think it's odd the way platters don't sit at the same hight? That one is quite high, some are very close to the top plate. You can't adjust it out, the bearings must be different lengths.
Can't even see the prop hole, have you photo-shopped that? ;0)
Can't even see the prop hole, have you photo-shopped that? ;0)
The internals from the underside shot look identical to mine, down to the brand of caps used on the terminal block.
If this is a chassis only LP12 ( and I have ads that confirm this possibility) then it opens up an interesting question around how the LP12 was designed and the idea that Ivor always had a kind of 'Linn sound' which differed fundamentally from that of the competition.
Selling the chassis without the plinth to me would imply that there was no such sound and that the early LP12 is just a Thorens 150 with a few tweaks and a beefier bearing. The plinth arrangement and set-up are pretty key to how this deck sounds.
It seems the mythology developed much later.
Stripping down my old LP12 recently left me feeling more than a little disappointed. It really is a very ordinary turntable in this early form and overall no better than the less expensive Thorens floaters IMO.
That isn't to imply anything about the match later versions or current production. I see the new ones as effectively different TTs.
Here's the proof that I've not Photo-shopped it
Hat's off, that's a very tidy patch you've done there.
I'm not entirely happy with it because looking closely again, you'll see a "stain" caused by the adhesive
LP12 #2717 is mounted in an SME-2000 plinth.
no, although the Linn originally came with a rubber mat, unsurprisingly similar to an ariston. short memory.Well, the Ariston hasn't got a felt mat, has it!