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Now the dust has settled - the Karousel

They’ve changed their minds since I last checked their opinion
Hats off to them, I’ve used Thomas’ recommendation with my deck on various fasteners and have been happy with how it sounds. I have yet to purchase a Karousel but have a 20mm socket and adapter ready to go when/if I pull the trigger.
 
When the cirkus came out I remember keeping the first 100 black liner bearings and thereafter we just binned them. We must have binned thousands of them over the years.

when older bearings came in for service we’d change them out for free.

I can’t remember a single demonstration where the customer wasn’t totally bowled over by the difference.

There are some products that just sell themselves and all credit to Linn they’ve done it again with the Karousel.
I didn't hear any real difference when I got a cirkus, but the Karousel is markedly better.
 
Has anyone else noticed less than perfect LP's, including compilations and greatest hits sound a whole lot better? Maybe my Cirkus had worn into a sideshow after 28 years.;)
 
Is the Karousel a DIY project?
Yes, if you can get hold of one. Dealers in the UK will not sell you one without their ‘expert’ fitting. I bought one from the EU (before Brexit!) where the Linn dealers have a more relaxed attitude, at a considerable discount. It’s a doddle to fit, however, you do need a decent torque wrench.
 
That’s the whole new record collection phenomenon that most LP12 upgrades bring.

Most?

We really do lose perspective in this game. Many of the changes we enthuse about a normal person would not even notice. We get sucked into seeing very slight improvements as being enormous and worth spending large sums on. We'll drop a grand on tiny upgrades without batting an eye.

Is the Karousel better? I don't have any reason to doubt it but I've heard the hyperbole before. I've done and heard so many upgrades and changes to the LP12 and now moving to the RP10 I have a pretty good idea of what I big change is, and what it isn't. I have never heard any upgrade to the LP12 that's even close to the gulf between my middling Linn and the RP10.

Can you get a Linn to perform like that? I'm sure you can, but it's going to cost you a huge amount of money. I've been talking to a few dealers etc over the last week or so about getting another LP12 with the Karousel bearing and even a really basic deck with a simple PSU, old AC motor and crap arm is going to cost a lot more than an RP10, or new P8, sells for. And there is no way such a machine will have the pitch stability, detail retrieval, noise floor etc of the Rega.

I find it frustrating. The LP12 has something special about its sound but the mystique has driven prices to unreasonable levels. A good record player, yes, potentially. Good value, not any more.
 
I've been talking to a few dealers etc over the last week or so about getting another LP12 with the Karousel bearing and even a really basic deck with a simple PSU, old AC motor and crap arm is going to cost a lot more than an RP10, or new P8, sells for.
I was looking at some red button ones yesterday on HiFi Shark and they are eye poppingly expensive, especially when you look at the pics and see some very tired looking old turntables.

Hopefully, pretty soon you'll be able to take your Rega into a Linn dealership and directly compare, if you wanted to.
 
Hopefully, pretty soon you'll be able to take your Rega into a Linn dealership and directly compare, if you wanted to.

I had been intending to do something but honestly, the stupid prices of Linn stuff is pissing me off. A Majik LP12 cost three and half grand. For that you get the old AC motor, basic power supply and a cheap arm. The same money buys a P10 with a super quiet motor with sophisticated outboard PSU and the best tonearm Rega make. It doesn't add up.

But you really want the Linn so you buy it and upgrade it later. You want a better power supply like the Rega has? Lingo 4 is £1,500. Better arm? Ekos SE is four grand! Seriously? I have no doubt at all that it's a good arm but that's about £500 more than the entire P10 with an RB3000.

I'm really not averse to the idea of another LP12, I miss some of the things the Linn does, but the Rega is so far ahead in so many ways I know it would cost thousands to match it in a Linn never mind significantly better it. It just isn't making sense to me.
 
I had been intending to do something but honestly, the stupid prices of Linn stuff is pissing me off. A Majik LP12 cost three and half grand. For that you get the old AC motor, basic power supply and a cheap arm. The same money buys a P10 with a super quiet motor with sophisticated outboard PSU and the best tonearm Rega make. It doesn't add up.

But you really want the Linn so you buy it and upgrade it later. You want a better power supply like the Rega has? Lingo 4 is £1,500. Better arm? Ekos SE is four grand! Seriously? I have no doubt at all that it's a good arm but that's about £500 more than the entire P10 with an RB3000.

I'm really not averse to the idea of another LP12, I miss some of the things the Linn does, but the Rega is so far ahead in so many ways I know it would cost thousands to match it in a Linn never mind significantly better it. It just isn't making sense to me.
Yeah, some big ticket numbers. Linn sold a lot of Majik LP12s (with Jelco arm) during the Karousel promo which made the deck about £1,000 cheaper than it is now. Doesn't seem all that long ago the Majik deck with Pro-Ject arm was £2k, albeit without a lid and hinges.

I can't see them bringing the entry point down further although I'm sure a new Axis with Karousel would be appealing to many.
 
Most?

We really do lose perspective in this game. Many of the changes we enthuse about a normal person would not even notice. We get sucked into seeing very slight improvements as being enormous and worth spending large sums on. We'll drop a grand on tiny upgrades without batting an eye.

Is the Karousel better? I don't have any reason to doubt it but I've heard the hyperbole before. I've done and heard so many upgrades and changes to the LP12 and now moving to the RP10 I have a pretty good idea of what I big change is, and what it isn't. I have never heard any upgrade to the LP12 that's even close to the gulf between my middling Linn and the RP10.

Can you get a Linn to perform like that? I'm sure you can, but it's going to cost you a huge amount of money. I've been talking to a few dealers etc over the last week or so about getting another LP12 with the Karousel bearing and even a really basic deck with a simple PSU, old AC motor and crap arm is going to cost a lot more than an RP10, or new P8, sells for. And there is no way such a machine will have the pitch stability, detail retrieval, noise floor etc of the Rega.

I find it frustrating. The LP12 has something special about its sound but the mystique has driven prices to unreasonable levels. A good record player, yes, potentially. Good value, not any more.
Maybe so. But as you say, the LP12 has a special sound. I trialled an RP10. No thanks.
 


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