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New LP12s - Bundle Bargains?

wylton said:
Yes, I have an Auralic Aries Mini downstairs and a Squeezebox upstairs. I really ought to spend more time with them tbh, because there's a load of good music on the SSD.
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Those 2 boxes are massive vfm, left the squeeze eco system years back, when it came out it was way ahead of the game. Convinced Auralic discontinued the Mini cos it was too good/cheap.
 
david ellwood said:
For whats its worth I think the Linn Majik LP12 is very good value, as it outperforms more expensive decks like the WTA and P10 , and is lots cheaper.
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Agree to disagree. I had a fairly souped up LP12 (Radikal, Khan top plate, Ekos, trampoline) and in no way, shape or form did it beat the Well Tempered Amadeus GTA I had, nor the Rega P9, that I had. In fact, in the long list of tables I've owned, the LP12 was my least favorite. It had it's place in time, but is easily beat by many a table these days, including those that cost less. I even had a "dem" (god, I hate that word) of a Klimax LP12 a few years ago and was able to compare it to a RP8 and the RP8 trounced it. Better base, better speed control, etc.
 
Erocka2000 said:
Agree to disagree. I had a fairly souped up LP12 (Radikal, Khan top plate, Ekos, trampoline) and in no way, shape or form did it beat the Well Tempered Amadeus GTA I had, nor the Rega P9, that I had. In fact, in the long list of tables I've owned, the LP12 was my least favorite. It had it's place in time, but is easily beat by many a table these days, including those that cost less. I even had a "dem" (god, I hate that word) of a Klimax LP12 a few years ago and was able to compare it to a RP8 and the RP8 trounced it. Better base, better speed control, etc.
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Have you heard Karousel?
 
david ellwood said:
Thank you for your carefully considered and informed opinion.
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Is there any situation where you’d admit that something sounds better than an LP12? The LP12 is not a bad table. Quite decent in fact. It’s just not the world beater you think it is. Regardless of whatever questionably priced upgrade or whichever “forged in the fires of Mt. Doom by the Dark Lord Sauron himself” bearing it has installed. It was a flawed design, albeit very progressive for the time, when Acoustic Research first tested the concept with the AR-XA and subsequently the Thorens and Ariston came out with their improved versions (and future foundation for the LP12). If Linn were so great at designing turntables, why haven’t they come up with a new, from the ground up, design in almost 50 years? They could have easily done that while continuing to support the LP12. But instead, they focused on milking their customers by constantly releasing update after update to improve what, in their eyes, was already the superior design. So it’s either a superior design from the beginning or a flawed one that needs constant updates to keep it relevant. It can’t be both.
 
I committed decades ago to parallel trackers, I do wonder what if I had to start again what I would do. The PT’s are mostly stupidly expensive so I think I would opt for the thread based arms. Well-tempered or the Blackbird. Chasing performance through finer and finer bearing tolerance just seems an ineffective use of resource.
 
Mutty, check out Holbo Mk2, expensive yes, but not stupidly so by comparison of other tables these days, especially linear/air bearing designs.
 
Erocka2000 said:
milking their customers by constantly releasing update after update
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Speaking for myself, I don't see much of a distinction between upgrading an existing product and releasing a new one every few years. The Linn has a lot going for it: great sound; compact; a pleasure to use and own; easy to update if you want and even easier to leave alone if you don't; enhances the aesthetic of a multi-purpose living room rather than only managing to be non-barf-inducing; has a lid to keep the cats away; and so on and so forth. It's not easy to find a turntable that ticks all these boxes, and IMO that's what's made the LP12 relevant for so long.
 
Erocka2000 said:
If Linn were so great at designing turntables, why haven’t they come up with a new, from the ground up, design in almost 50 years?
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Linn Axis?

I liken the LP12 to a Porsche 911. Pretty much unsurpassed performance and ability; updated and improved over the years.
 
Erocka2000 said:
Nope, and I honestly there’s no way I’d believe a simple bearing would enhance the sound enough that it’d make the LP12 against current offerings, regardless of whatever the Linnites preach as gospel.
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Ah. Haven't heard it then...
 
Is there any situation where you’d admit that something sounds better than an LP12?
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Absolutely, when I hear one that does.

Nope, and I honestly there’s no way I’d believe a simple bearing would enhance the sound
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Well, In my experience the bearing is fundamental to every aspect of the performance of a turntable.

Id suggest you have a dem, but I suspect you’re well beyond listening with only your ears.
 
Unfortunately we are all beyond just listening with our ears. There are some brands I just would never consider, I suppose others are the same?
 
Out of interest, are there any new TT's from the last couple of decades which use a similar belt driven, suspended sub-chassis design to the LP12?
 
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