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LP12 Origins

Paul R said:
An interesting link in the subchassis chain.

Paul
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Hi Paul,

Yes, pressed steel with only two ribs.

All parts look original and period including the older silver springs and non locking nuts.

Very nice bearing. With some EP80W-90 gear oil in the bearing, a good push has it spinning silent for about 5 minutes.

The plinth is in good shape with no scratches or dings but someone has tried to polish it badly, so it will be cleaned up and lacquered over the weekend. Then it'll be home to this:

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Paul R said:
An interesting link in the subchassis chain.
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Cool, one of the two-rib subchassis as I mentioned on page 7.

It's interesting that it has the flat red power button and not the rocker switch. LP12s in the late 3000s had the rocker, so the change must have come around #4000.

This LP12 also has the same two-rib subchassis, so it's probably safe to assume that it was used since the start.

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Quick update on renovating this old girl.

The plinth while ding and scratch three had been quite badly refinished, so Simon and I took the old girl for a trip to Audiosmile Towers, stripped off all the crud and old finish, then refinished the plinth:

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Lastly, the 774 is in very nice condition but I'm lucky to have two wands. I've used Cardas tags on one and the more usual type on the other:

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One weak area with the 774 is the cable plug arrangement. This is tiny and not suited at all to heavy interconnects - so don't use one. Use a thin, simple coax so that you can actually thread the cable through the holes on the tiny pcb:

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I can no longer give needle drops here but there will some over at our place later this week if anyone wants a listen.
 
Tony L said:
Looks beautiful Rob. A P9 worrier?
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The gap isn't as wide as I'd expected. The 774/AT balances out the slightly fat and warm balance of these old LP12s. Not as sure-footed or temporally crisp as the Rega but it has a big, easy sound.

I did fit new Linn bolts, nuts and springs (Nirvana) but I might actually try it with the old ones, which all seem fine.
 
Robert said:
I did fit new Linn bolts, nuts and springs but I might actually try it with the old ones
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I think the newer ones sound better and are much easier to set right. And they stay set!

Not tempted to plug the lid-prop hole while the plinth was stripped? ;0)
 
Indeed, keep it period correct - if it was mine I'd irk the purists and stick a nice old SME 3009 on it! I'd be tempted to try the original springs too, i.e. see what it would have sounded like in it's day.
 
Tony L said:
Indeed, keep it period correct - if it was mine I'd irk the purists and stick a nice old SME 3009 on it! I'd be tempted to try the original springs too, i.e. see what it would have sounded like in it's day.
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I might well try a 3009 at some point, though the 774 came along in 1979 so at least its the right decade.

I've never understood how the original spring and nut set could drift. The pressure from the spring assembly presses down hard on the nut, and the old method of applying a blob of gloss paint to the nut should keep it firm.
I guess transporting the TT could cause the original nuts to move.
 
Tony L said:
Indeed, keep it period correct - if it was mine I'd irk the purists and stick a nice old SME 3009 on it! I'd be tempted to try the original springs too, i.e. see what it would have sounded like in it's day.
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Why would it bother purists? They're not the ones that have to listen to it. :)
 
Robert said:
I've never understood how the original spring and nut set could drift.
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I don't think the nuts move. I don't know but I've always assumed that the springs move due to them not being ground flat on the ends. I think the early grommets are different as well, I can't remember. I might have some in a box but my memory isn't great. But the later springs do seem to be easier to set and stay more stable.

I have the original lid and prop.
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How quaint! ;0) I suppose at least with the prop you won't have the perennial problem of the hinge springs going weak and dropping the lid on you!
 
Well, the plot thickens and this is getting very interesting.

I put the original spring set back and reset the suspension.
Quite a different bounce and if anything far easier to get a nice firm pistonic motion.
If anything, the irregularities in the shape of the older springs allows more fine adjustment.
The resonant frequency is also higher on the older springs, with the bounce rate faster and also a bit firmer.

<Serge if you should be looking in, cover your eyes now!>

Had another listen tonight and I actually think it sounds excellent with the old springs, and the gap between it it and the P9 is clearer. It now sounds characteristically bouncy, with what I'd call the 'Linn gallop' - a sort of propulsion to bass and fast percussion. Yet it places all of this in a warm and cuddly sonic blanket, almost like someone has applied very mild reverb.

The arm and more specifically the bearings are clearly doing their job and are in fine order. On hot tracks you can hear the sub-chassis roaring away as the 774 acts as a conduit for energy leaving the cartridge. Did I mention reverb..... ;)

I've posted some sound quality demonstrations over at our place. I think they are well worth a listen. If nothing else they demonstrate that the evolution off the LP12 hasn't been entirely positive if you really like what the original did best.
 
Nice work on the plinth Rob!

Mine is a 1977 model - originally came with a red push switch and basik supply too, but a different type of switch from yours I seem to recall.

Bearing looks identical, but my OE sub-chassis was a later one - from memory no ribs and a riveted bracing plate (I can check, it's still in the garage).

When I bought mine the platter was touching the top plate - upon stripping it, the nuts looked like they were still held in place with the original red locktite, suggesting it had never had a service. I assumed the springs had deformed over time, and ended up fitting some later black ones with new gromits (that Flatpopely kindly donated to me!).

I did set it up initially on the original springs, with the original LV-V (bearings needed adjustment to remove free play) and a DL110 it sounded great to my ears - far better than a Sota Sapphire running a rewired RB250 and same cartridge. When I replaced springs I also changed other things, so never directly compared.

A nice Sole on that and you'd be laughing I reckon :)

Richard
 
Robert said:
The 774 balances out the slightly fat and warm balance of these old LP12s.
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I have used a 774 on my LP12 since I bought it. It suits the Linn's sound very well. Used with an Entre MC ( currently waiting to have a new stylus fitted by Expert Stylus ) it's a winning combination . MGM
 
In the early days it was possible to buy a chassis from Linn to put into your own plinth. Maybe that's what happened here. The chassis looks right, and of the right vintage, but not a Linn plinth or lid.
 
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