wylton
Naim and Mana member
That made me snigger I must admit; one reason why I try to avoid this vs. that discussions!
Sondek LP12 arm options
- Thread starter 749er
- Start date
That made me snigger I must admit; one reason why I try to avoid this vs. that discussions!
take a trip into loud and clear in glasgow
I've just fitted a 2nd hand Naim Aro to a lp12...get a demo and see what u think....its for sale
your welcome to bring your own deck for comparison
I am also building a 2nd hand lp12 that will go on sale in the next couple weeks and it will be priced to sell...ask for Ian in the shop and he can give u whatever options u want in the deck before its built sort of thing
the shops prices are always cheaper than eBay ...it amazes me peeps buy the shit on eBay then pay for me to fit it all together...if they just bought local we would have fitted and supplied much cheaper than they end up paying
Is this the "trade sales" section of PFM or what.
Talk about subtle...
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
Nothing wrong with the Linn arm bearings. Ittok and Ekos are excellent arms, even the Basik's pretty good. AROs aren't "dreadful", what nonsense. A Nima is a very viable alternative to an ARO - not quite as good but not far off. All these arms perform differently depending on what deck, cartridge and wiring they're using. If you can, take up Mr Audioorigami's offer & listen for yourself.
forester
pfm Member
Unipivot and gimbal arms sound different, but it doesn't mean that one is better than the other. I prefer my Ekos to the Ittock that it replaced, the detail and stability are amazing and would by most be regarded as the better arm, however the sound is less coloured and was considered at the time as more 'cd like', so not everyone is going to agree.
I don't think the Linn arm bearings have problems as such but everything I have read and been advised makes me believe they are fairly easily damaged so I for one won't be changing the cartridge while the arm is on the deck. Plenty on the forums if you want to search.
I don't think the Linn arm bearings have problems as such but everything I have read and been advised makes me believe they are fairly easily damaged so I for one won't be changing the cartridge while the arm is on the deck. Plenty on the forums if you want to search.
Gaius
pfm Member
This makes perfect sense and is quite correct IMO. The Morch UP4 uni also works very well on the LP12, nice and light, excellent flow.
Depending on your budget you will need to work out how you are going to approach things.
The cheapest LP12 I have seen on ebay recently was £250. It had some issues but was listed as "buy it now" but probably did not last more than 5 minutes. The bottom end is usually around £500 without arm for a pre Cirkus build. They are usually listed as collection only so you would have to hope one comes up local to you for that kind of price. In general prices will be a fair bit higher than that.
I have recently done an LP12 bitsa for myself but am sharing the platter with my mid 90s build. Building your own is viable and not that difficult using the Peter Swain guidelines but some patience is needed to pick up parts from ebay to avoid exceeding the price of a complete unit.
Ittoks generally go for around £550 to £650 though there are a load currently on ebay at much higher prices which are not selling.
Your cheapest route probably will be to get a Pre Cirkus build with Ittok which it appears is your preference. I have a fondness for Ittoks from when I had one on my first LP12 but arms like the Alphason HR-100S or Zeta may be superior.
The cheapest LP12 I have seen on ebay recently was £250. It had some issues but was listed as "buy it now" but probably did not last more than 5 minutes. The bottom end is usually around £500 without arm for a pre Cirkus build. They are usually listed as collection only so you would have to hope one comes up local to you for that kind of price. In general prices will be a fair bit higher than that.
I have recently done an LP12 bitsa for myself but am sharing the platter with my mid 90s build. Building your own is viable and not that difficult using the Peter Swain guidelines but some patience is needed to pick up parts from ebay to avoid exceeding the price of a complete unit.
Ittoks generally go for around £550 to £650 though there are a load currently on ebay at much higher prices which are not selling.
Your cheapest route probably will be to get a Pre Cirkus build with Ittok which it appears is your preference. I have a fondness for Ittoks from when I had one on my first LP12 but arms like the Alphason HR-100S or Zeta may be superior.
That’s the conclusion I have come to.
Pre cirkus with ittock
Leaves me room to improve it over time with cirkus, lingo, better cartridge etc
The Sonata was another brilliant deck, along with the Pink Triangle, that eventually became another victim of the fierce Linn hype/marketing scandal of the 1970/80s.
flatpopely
Prog Rock/Moderator
Linn created no scandal. They were just business savvy.
Unfortunately they took away choice from the British audiophile. As flatpopely says," business savvy ", but not good for the hifi industry.
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
Linn's marketing savvy was unsurpassed. How they got certain sections of the press rabidly behind them and their dealers to freeze out the opposition is still a bit of a mystery!? Time and time again the idea that the only worthwhile upgrade from a Rega 3 was an LP12 was rammed down our ears. I think its these old wounds that along with a costly never ending upgrade path that left a bitter memory in many people's minds.
Rega on the other hand didn't try to sell us anything, much like Harbeth I guess. Most Linn dealers stocked Rega decks, but not XY and Z, because they were not deemed as rivals by Linn. At that time they weren't, so they survived.
A lot of people found that the Ittok/ Ekos arms need a lot of upgrading to get rid of their roughness.
Apart from the LP12 (given it's origins), did Linn create anything else worthwhile? Their speakers are ghastly, and their amps nondescript.
Rega on the other hand didn't try to sell us anything, much like Harbeth I guess. Most Linn dealers stocked Rega decks, but not XY and Z, because they were not deemed as rivals by Linn. At that time they weren't, so they survived.
A lot of people found that the Ittok/ Ekos arms need a lot of upgrading to get rid of their roughness.
Apart from the LP12 (given it's origins), did Linn create anything else worthwhile? Their speakers are ghastly, and their amps nondescript.