I think that Linn have changed the am board on the LP 12 more than any other integral part of the turntable and Ive never really been a fan of them due to their inconsistency. I always had it in mind to knock one up of my own using some kind of exotic sold wood like my plinth (Indian Rosewood) but it only remained an idea. The best Linn arm board IMO was the 4 layered version which I found to be much sturdier that the later version with the new Linn logo. And it was the 4 layered arm board that I had attached to the Sole Subchassis. Earlier today I swapped this over for Analogue Innovations new arm board, trying to keep everything as consistent as possible, ie: removing the Ekos with the counter weight attached, leaving the tracking weight and anti-skating as is and the arm even bolted to the arm collar (at the risk of knackering it) and simply unscrewing the 3 bolts attaching the base of the arm collar from the arm board.
I must say the workmanship on the AI arm board is first class. Its black anodised aluminium finish has a subtle silver edge making it a piece of cake to line up with the plinth. I used the same bolts for the Ekos and also the same bolts supplied by AI to attach the arm board to the Sole. I did everything up nice and tight but didnt go nuts in the process. The top and bottom surfaces are solid and they dont distort like the Linn arm boards do when you tighten them, I guess, too much. But I did feel that I could apply more pressure tightening the AI arm board than the Linn boards. After the whole thing was levelled out I noticed that the arm board sits perfectly within the plinth. The Linn boards were inconsistent in this respect because almost all of them were slightly off by about a mil. Being a person that works with lines, pens and camera equipment this was enough to be a long term niggly annoyance.
The sound: Without beating too much about the bush, is knockout! Before the arm board swap I played All I Want and My Old Man from Blue by Joni Mitchell and the title track from Roxy Musics Avalon. They sounded really good but they sounded so much better with the new arm board, I never realised just how multi layered the initially simple sounding All I Want is. And from the album Avalon I was never really keen on the whole LP but I like the title track. After it finished I let it play to the end and then I flipped it over and played the other side. Its quite a good album after all. The over all presentation on everything Ive played is that much more three dimensional; and even from the kitchen (when I managed to tear myself away) I could tell that something special was going on. The new arm board together with the Sole Subchassis is a superb up grade for the LP12. Considering the current economic situation, it makes sense over the very expensive Linn Keel.
Now Im going to put some Earth Wind and Fire on and chuck some wine in the goulash.
Cheers!
I must say the workmanship on the AI arm board is first class. Its black anodised aluminium finish has a subtle silver edge making it a piece of cake to line up with the plinth. I used the same bolts for the Ekos and also the same bolts supplied by AI to attach the arm board to the Sole. I did everything up nice and tight but didnt go nuts in the process. The top and bottom surfaces are solid and they dont distort like the Linn arm boards do when you tighten them, I guess, too much. But I did feel that I could apply more pressure tightening the AI arm board than the Linn boards. After the whole thing was levelled out I noticed that the arm board sits perfectly within the plinth. The Linn boards were inconsistent in this respect because almost all of them were slightly off by about a mil. Being a person that works with lines, pens and camera equipment this was enough to be a long term niggly annoyance.
The sound: Without beating too much about the bush, is knockout! Before the arm board swap I played All I Want and My Old Man from Blue by Joni Mitchell and the title track from Roxy Musics Avalon. They sounded really good but they sounded so much better with the new arm board, I never realised just how multi layered the initially simple sounding All I Want is. And from the album Avalon I was never really keen on the whole LP but I like the title track. After it finished I let it play to the end and then I flipped it over and played the other side. Its quite a good album after all. The over all presentation on everything Ive played is that much more three dimensional; and even from the kitchen (when I managed to tear myself away) I could tell that something special was going on. The new arm board together with the Sole Subchassis is a superb up grade for the LP12. Considering the current economic situation, it makes sense over the very expensive Linn Keel.
Now Im going to put some Earth Wind and Fire on and chuck some wine in the goulash.
Cheers!
)
