advertisement


Ancient LP12 - home diagnostic checks and possible fettling ?

-alan-

pfm Member
With a little help and encouragement from the PFM posse, I changed the fairly knackered K9 cartridge on my ancient LP12 / Akito for a new AT-VM95EN. This in itself certainly made a noticeable improvement.

I know it's early days and it probably hasn't fully run in yet - but in all honesty, if I run it back to back against my (also fairly ancient) Karik / Numerik boxes, in terms of sounds and listening pleasure, the turntable rarely (if ever) comes close to the digital offering.

A lot of that could certainly be down to the age and quality of my vinyl stock - some of it going back to 1980, with a history admittedly of having suffered from being played on some fairly ropey turntable & stylus pairings over the years. I do have a small number of better quality vinyl disks, with decent recordings and in what I would describe as pristine condition. Even with those though, I think the audio from the turntable is still nowhere as engaging as the digital boxes.

I bought the LP12 used back in 2003 for about £200, and have done absolutely nothing to it. The rest of the system is (almost) a pure Linnfest - Kairn/LK280/Spark, but feeding into a pair of JBL 4410s

Could anybody steer me toward or perhaps advise on anything I could do - at home here - to check if there's anything obviously out of kilter with it, or similarly whether there are some straightforward enough maintenance / setup tasks I could look at to ensure I give the thing at least a fighting chance of showing what it can do ?

In technical terms, I have to confess to being a total numpty when it comes to Linn kit and specs, and couldn't even tell you what age/spec the LP12 is, when last (or perhaps if )it was ever set up or serviced. I am reasonably capable from a technical / mechanical perspective - and also have a bit of an aversion to forking out large sums of money to specialist audio dealers unless it is absolutely necessary.

Any help or advice much appreciated.
 
Set the bounce correctly, this really does make a difference. Loads of info online about how to achieve it. Maybe treat it to a new drive belt?
 
If you've been using the deck for a decade without changing the oil you'll be lucky if the bearing is not worn. Either invest the time in learning how to service and set it yourself or, if you're not very technically minded, take it to a specialist.

It's a machine, just like a car or a lawnmower. Yes, you can just use it without any maintenance but it won't give it's best and may suffer damage. Give it some love and you'll hear the difference.
 
If you've been using the deck for a decade without changing the oil you'll be lucky if the bearing is not worn. Either invest the time in learning how to service and set it yourself or, if you're not very technically minded, take it to a specialist.

It's a machine, just like a car or a lawnmower. Yes, you can just use it without any maintenance but it won't give it's best and may suffer damage. Give it some love and you'll hear the difference.

I must have missed those LP12's with the internal combustion engine option, or the Lawnmower with the sprung suspension?..
 
Twenty years?
New belt
Change oil
Check bounce and adjust if necessary

All that sounds pretty doable Bob, thanks.

Get it checked out by someone who knows what they are doing, shouldn’t be too costly.

The only folk I'm aware of who fall into that category here in Ireland alas fall into the realms of specialist audio suppliers - with labour and overhead rates to match. I got stung in the past by similar of that ilk, and haven't really a lot of faith in their* bona fides re assessments and pricing. Possibly an overly cynical view, but I firmly fall into the once bitten camp..

*(not the local dealers specifically, more the breed in general)
 
Forget a dealer - DIY it - it’ll get you 80% of the way there just leveling suspension, then worry about bounce. I would also change springs & belt, and clean/re-oil main bearing. It won’t have the frequency extension of the CD replay, but should suck you in…it did when I did same with an un loved 1977 model many years ago:)
 
If you're handy you can do it yourself. The more time you spend getting it right the better it will sound. The bearing oil is the biggy. It's the only thing that will feck the deck if you don't do it. Everything else effects sound quality but won't do damage.
 
I know it's early days and it probably hasn't fully run in yet - but in all honesty, if I run it back to back against my (also fairly ancient) Karik / Numerik boxes, in terms of sounds and listening pleasure, the turntable rarely (if ever) comes close to the digital offering.
I think you're asking a lot of an "ancient" LP12 that's probably never been serviced or set up since birth, with a budget cartridge that may or may not have been installed optimally, to compare to a then top of the line CD player that doesn't need and special setup and doesn't wear out. A properly set up LP12 with some upgrades will probably match your Karik/Numerik in some areas, surpass it in others, and fall short in some, but thats unlikely in its present state.
 
The deck might be old but with a bit of tlc it'll still sound very good. It's worth remembering that from around the mid nineties to 2018 the spec of the LP12 really didn't change much at all.
 
I think you're asking a lot of an "ancient" LP12 that's probably never been serviced or set up since birth, with a budget cartridge that may or may not have been installed optimally, to compare to a then top of the line CD player that doesn't need and special setup and doesn't wear out. A properly set up LP12 with some upgrades will probably match your Karik/Numerik in some areas, surpass it in others, and fall short in some, but thats unlikely in its present state.

In my experience a proper functioning LP12 always beats Karik/Numerik is every way that matters.
 
Get it checked out by someone who knows what they are doing, shouldn’t be too costly.
£75 at my local dealership the last time I had mine done… new springs and grommets were included in that, although I was having upgrades done too. I think that was a standard service/price though. Might be a little more now.
 
Get it checked out by someone who knows what they are doing, shouldn’t be too costly.

If you call £100 not too costly that is.........

If you think the deck hasn't had any upgrades, let us know the serial number on the back and someone here will tell you the spec and the most cost-effective improvements
 
If it bounces correctly, runs at the right speed, the platter is flat (try a spirit level) , the arm swings smoothly, and you've set up the cartridge correctly, you'll be well on your way I would have thought
 


advertisement


Back
Top