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Best VFM LP12 configuration

markharro

pfm Member
Hi

I have an old LP12 with fluted surround; pre-cirkus; modified Rega 250 arm and Kontrapunkt b and Lingo 1. I have just bought a second hand Kore.

When I get the Kore fitted I will update to Cirkus. Beyond that I am thinking about the Tiger Paw Javelin arm. Without spending stupid money where is the sweet spot for sound quality beyond that?

Thanks.
 
I am not sure how "available" a Javelin will be as I am led to believe they're not being produced due to a number of reasons so you may need to rethink that bit anyway...

Oh and just to add if it were me I would be looking at a PU7.

I cannot comment on the audio side of things but when I was considering an upgrade I was tossing and turning over Javelin versus PU7 :)
 
Stay where you are. What you have is great. If you don't like what it does, get a different deck.

If you must upgrade, do so in the knowledge that you may or may not like the change and you will certainly not get your money back. If that's OK with you, go for it and have fun.
 
As above, as far as I am aware Tiger Paw no longer exists (I realise the continued presence of their website seems to contradict this) and you cannot buy a Javelin. I write this is a friend of the designer and one of the few who does actually own and use a Javelin.

As an aside, some will know I designed the Tranquility and if any party would be interested in continuing to produce it please could they contact me.

———-
As for ‘value for money’, well that is a very personal and subjective view. For my part I would go with a Cirkus bearing but possibly the Mober motor and power supply upgrade. I wouldn’t bother with machined top plates or exotic plinths (unless you want the beauty of the hardwood plinths Chris Harban creates - Cymbiosis represent him in the UK I believe). Don’t change the springs or belt for any of the aftermarket options either.
 
I’d go Cirkus & Lingo. Maybe the Kontrapunkt is deserving of a better arm but you could leave that for the time being.
Get it checked over, serviced & set up by someone who know what they’re doing with Linns. Probably factor in a new belt (£50!) & a drop of fresh oil.
A decent phono stage & you can have years of excellent music. They can be a superb tt & aren’t as liable to go out of tune, once set up, as some people say.
You can get carried away with upgrades, a bit Like Naim gear, but get it to a sensibly decent level & you don’t have to get sucked in to the seemingly never ending upgrade path.
 
I’d go Cirkus & Lingo. Maybe the Kontrapunkt is deserving of a better arm but you could leave that for the time being.
Get it checked over, serviced & set up by someone who know what they’re doing with Linns. Probably factor in a new belt (£50!) & a drop of fresh oil.
A decent phono stage & you can have years of excellent music. They can be a superb tt & aren’t as liable to go out of tune, once set up, as some people say.
You can get carried away with upgrades, a bit Like Naim gear, but get it to a sensibly decent level & you don’t have to get sucked in to the seemingly never ending upgrade path.

Thanks very much - this is exactly what I want to arrive at - a sensibly decent level - not maybe in one go but what should I aspire to? Btw I am using a Lingo 1 atm so is there a sweet spot for the Lingo variant? What about the phone stage? I use a Tom Evans microgroove right now.
 
Value is in the ear of the belistener.

the beauty of the linn is that there is almost always a way of wringing a little more performance out of it.

good luck !
 
Buy a sensibly priced, good condition, used Nima. You'll love or loath it. If you loathe it sell on to about break even on the experiment. Buy a used armboard for it too.
If you love the Nima, you'll have a hell of a chunk of the sound of an ARO for relative peanuts.

Skip doing anything else.
 
this is exactly what I want to arrive at - a sensibly decent level - not maybe in one go. Btw I am using a Lingo 1 atm so is there a sweet spot for the Lingo variant? What about the phone stage? I use a Tom Evans microgroove right now.
If the Lingo1 is still reliable, I wouldn’t be in a rush to step up to the later models.
It’s one of those “are the later ones better......yes,” but contemplating the later Lingos is getting sucked into the upgrade path, from an already decent level that you want to avoid.
The TE Microgroove is nice. Again, it’s a good component at a sensible level. Is there better out there? Of course there is, but along with the rest of the system, it will do a very good job without agonising over the necessity to spend loads more.
If you put a record on, you have a smile on your face & your foot is tapping to the groove, then that’s it. Job done.
 
OK, VFM means widely differing things to different people, but the great majority of suggestions are tinkering, and tinkering is not VFM when it does not cost tinkering ££.

A change of tonearm, and/or change (or retip or refurb if not recently already done) of the cart', are far, far more likely to produce actual VFM as they are far, far more likely to get more out of the LP12.
 
A change of tonearm, and/or change (or retip or refurb if not recently already done) of the cart', are far, far more likely to produce actual VFM as they are far, far more likely to get more out of the LP12.
Hmm, well maybe.
However, that kinda depends on the condition of the tt, the arm & the cart.
If the cart & arm are still in good condition, then a bit of money to service the turntable may be cheaper than changing the arm &/or cart, & produce significant improvements.
But yes, if the Kontrapunkt is very leggy, or the arm bearings are shagged, then spend some ££ there.
The OP is already looking to get the Kore & Cirkus are being fitted, so that will entail a service & set up.
May as well get the arm & cart checked out at the same time.
My reading of the OP was that he was asking ( happy to be corrected on this) if it was really necessary to go substantially further up the ladder to get a decent sounding LP12, or if he already had the foundation for a bloomin decent tt set up.
My view is that he’s at least 80%+ of the way there.
 


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