Linn bloody Linn

[d16b]

Urgh. That PSU looks far from easy to repair. It also doesn't look like a generic PSU, which isn't ideal. I'd be happier if they treated the things like computer parts, where the components that are likely to fail are generic parts with a fairly standard fitting, like SATA HDDs or the various computer SMPSs. You know they are going to fail one day, so when they do, oh dear it's another 19V/5A Dell lappy supply, as manufactured and supplied by however many people. Hifi has never gone down this route and I really don't know why, because if you look at something like the Quad 405 you can get clone PCBs for something like £40. At that price, why spend hours repairing a faulty one? Plumbing parts are going the same way, I recently had to replace a washer, that didn't fix it. New mechanism, £35. No washers available for that, but if it fails in 10 years I shall lash out another £35 and know that I can have it fitted in under an hour now that I know what I'm doing. Same goes for a kitchen tap. New insert, £35 (no, we don't know which one you'll need, you need to bring it to us, dismantled, we'll match it up and then you can fix the old tap with that) or entire new tap assembly £40, wind off the old wind on the new within the hour. Oooh, let's see now. Cars are the same, when you need a new bush it comes attached to the new steel arm, you unscrew the old and screw on the new. Compare and contrast the 70s when you were burning out old ones and pressing in the new every 20 thousand bloody miles. No thanks.

Virtually my point exactly.

Prof Hawksford (Essex Uni) designed a pre and power amp which ended up being made by FAMCO. I had one, that was in 1980. It's still available. FAMCO became YBA and YBA follow the Hawksford ethos. To that end, all repairable, available and top end.

Friend of the owner of Quad went full 1950's hifi and that's still in use and revered. He moved onto the 405 system. Stupidly I didn't buy his old one.

Naim are repairable going back to the 1980's.

NAD are repairable.

Linn has designed in hugely expensive redundancy, yes, clearly at legal time frames but as with me, not within the usual British hifi followers window as we anticipate at least some 'help' in maintaining what is stonking kit (when it works). To me re-designing the wheel and ensuring people have to keep buying them isn't my idea of good business practice.

 

[allthingsanalog]

Urgh. That PSU looks far from easy to repair. It also doesn't look like a generic PSU, which isn't ideal. I'd be happier if they treated the things like computer parts, where the components that are likely to fail are generic parts with a fairly standard fitting, like SATA HDDs or the various computer SMPSs. You know they are going to fail one day, so when they do, oh dear it's another 19V/5A Dell lappy supply, as manufactured and supplied by however many people. Hifi has never gone down this route and I really don't know why, because if you look at something like the Quad 405 you can get clone PCBs for something like £40. At that price, why spend hours repairing a faulty one? Plumbing parts are going the same way, I recently had to replace a washer, that didn't fix it. New mechanism, £35. No washers available for that, but if it fails in 10 years I shall lash out another £35 and know that I can have it fitted in under an hour now that I know what I'm doing. Same goes for a kitchen tap. New insert, £35 (no, we don't know which one you'll need, you need to bring it to us, dismantled, we'll match it up and then you can fix the old tap with that) or entire new tap assembly £40, wind off the old wind on the new within the hour. Oooh, let's see now. Cars are the same, when you need a new bush it comes attached to the new steel arm, you unscrew the old and screw on the new. Compare and contrast the 70s when you were burning out old ones and pressing in the new every 20 thousand bloody miles. No thanks.

I mainly meant the capacitors are pretty easy to replace and no different from many computers etc from the 90's onwards. As for trouble shooting I guess Linn would just replace it buy obviously without schematics it would be more difficult for a third party.

Even the new SL1200G's etc are all surface mount.

Luckily Denon and Yamaha still provide service manuals for all their kit.

The LP12 fortunately has a large consumer base so many third party alternatives are available but yes, digital streamers etc, forget it.

Often I think about getting another A60 Arcam as they're very easy to service!

 

[GordonM]

+1 (100%)

The LINN approach reminds me of the Disneyland theme-park antics when anyone balks at paying $20 for an ice cream on a stick.

"Sir reserves the right to NOT make a purchase..." was the response I heard.

Talk about short-term thinking!

Sadly, unless they change their approach, I predict that in the fullness of time, LINN will (finally) evaporate into the same dark cloud that inhaled ARISTON, SYSTEMDEK and LOGIC, not to mention TOYS R US, MAPLIN, BORDERS BOOKS and dozens of other (now defunct) market-leading brands.

The good news is that every item on our beloved LP12 turntable can be procured elsewhere, usually more cheaply and IMHO, occasionally more effectively - and it's a doddle to work on. So, we're covered.

By contrast, LINN's budget-focused competitor REGA seems to be still going strong. And REGA's unique commitment to long-term customer service seems to be going from strength to strength.

If REGA's ROY GANDY can find a sincere successor - who is genuinely on-board with his (unique) formula for success - I feel sure that REGA will still be doing the business, for decades to come.

As for LINN? Let's see...

Kind of agree about LP12 but where to get a replacement bearing other than Carousel or second hand original?

 

[d16b]

I mainly meant the capacitors are pretty easy to replace and no different from many computers etc from the 90's onwards. As for trouble shooting I guess Linn would just replace it buy obviously without schematics it would be more difficult for a third party.

Even the new SL1200G's etc are all surface mount.

Luckily Denon and Yamaha still provide service manuals for all their kit.

Luckily though the LP12 has a large consumer base so many third party alternatives are available but yes, digital streamers etc, forget it.

Often I think about getting another A60 Arcam as they're very easy to service!

Linn would just replace parts - yes you are correct.

However, the period of redundancy shortens to the point that very expensive kit dies in their eyes. Current kit Akurat is destined to be consigned to the bin shorty according to them.

Schemtics are available, to Linn, not for public consumption and if Linn don't repair it, Linn dealers aren't interested a bit like Apple, faulty kit is sent to Linn.

So in other words, spend a fortune, haven't another £50k to spend, never mind, all good things come to an end.

 

[Iain Docherty]

Maybe you should ring Linn support. I did yesterday. The redundancy law is EU and I suggest the UK isn't in the EU so maybe that EU 'law' doesn't apply any more but hey, I was only quoting Linn and it certainly wasn't said to me as if it was going to be longer than the end of this year.

Stop shooting the messenger, I only deliver not create

It is true that lots of UK consumer law is derived from EU legislation but there’s a whole regime of retained EU law to manage the divergence the (current) government is committed to (at least rhetorically) and avoid the ‘maybes’. But many Akurate products are current and there must be thousands out there still covered by Linn’s 5 year manufacturer’s warranty which creates a different legal context for issues with those products.

 

[Mike P]

These days my selection criteria for choosing kit includes determining whether or not the service manual and schematic are available and whether there are any unobtanium components.

Naturally this has led me down the road of owning a lot of older kit but that's just fine with me.

When I owned a Kairn I deliberately bought an early one with a transformer PSU. I recapped it and changed the battery and it served me well for years.

 

[stevec67]

Kind of agree about LP12 but where to get a replacement bearing other than Carousel or second hand original?

Carousel or other 3rd party. It's like asking where to get new wheel bearings for a Morris Minor. They won't come with Austin Morris on the box but Timken and SKF will supply and they will fit.

 

[nostromo]

Maybe like pharmaceuticals, once the patent runs out....the hifi component is old enough the circuit diagram could be released, perhaps with any discretionary sections redacted.

Reminds me of a story I read in a magazine behind an aeroplane seat a long time ago. Someone from darkest Africa called Rolls Royce about a fault with their car, Rolls couldn't figure out what was causing it so they sent out an engineer. On arrival he found the owner was using it to plough his fields.

 

[Mr Pig]

Kind of agree about LP12 but where to get a replacement bearing other than Carousel or second hand original?

It's not as big an issue as I thought it might be. There are a lot of good condition used bearings out there. I have about seven in the house, including a brand new Cikus kit. I think I'll be dead before LP12 bearings are a problem and good chance that by then someone will be making new ones

 

[flatpopely]

Best turntable I have even (not heard) Nottingham Analoge Spacedeck, on a granite block on my hearth, Space arm, either AT OC9 or Denon 110.

Genuinely the wall disappeared and I was listening to the musicians playing from next doors garden.

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome was mind blowing.

Then this idiot traded it for a Sondek

I’ve heard a Spacedeck in my system, I preferred my LP12.

 

[Tarzan]

Can you fit audiophile fuses into cars?

Soon, yes.

 

[stevec67]

Maybe like pharmaceuticals, once the patent runs out....the hifi component is old enough the circuit diagram could be released, perhaps with any discretionary sections redacted.

The circuits aren't rocket science. I've taken a few amps to a repairer I know, he generally fixes them without schematics. "Oh, it's just a derivative of the old Hitachi circuit. Simple enough, it was interesting what they have done with the bias arrangement." And so on.

 

[d16b]

Soon, yes.

Many motorhomes use glass fuses (hifi type) in their internal, computer and solar management systems - does that count. Including slow blow.

 

[Tarzan]

Many motorhomes use glass fuses (hifi type) in their internal, computer and solar management systems - does that count. Including slow blow.

Moving my kit into a Motorhome!

 

[Paul L]

I nearly didn’t look at this thread as I have no interest in Linn bloody Linn these days. It should be called another interesting thread on right to repair as it’s a much more interesting and broader conversation so far.

 

[d16b]

I nearly didn’t look at this thread as I have no interest in Linn bloody Linn these days. It should be called another interesting thread on right to repair as it’s a much more interesting and broader conversation so far.

Maybe I'll change the title (if I can).

Talk about frustrating. I am not giving up on trying to fix my Linn kit (I have to admit I have heard nothing better (speaker wise) than the Katans driven by active Klouts with the dedicated Sizmik. It blew off the opposition (high end) at a demo before I bought it - to the point the owner said he would never demo it again, he wouldn't have been able to sell the FAR more expensive stuff.

That said, horses for courses.

I've acquired a YBA (FAMCO) PRE5 to run the system whilst I work on it. dedicated sub out, can be a tandem AV and audio system, totally repairable and long history.

 

[essgee]

No Linn no Naim, no problems!

 

[per-Sony-fied]

Can you fit audiophile fuses into cars?

Of course the car stereo isn't immune to such "upgrades" not to mention that little bit extra engine performance put in the right place.

 

[d16b]

No Linn no Naim, no problems!

?

 

[david ellwood]

Linn and Naim both make very reliable equipment, Because resale values are high people will often look to repair rather than junk kit despite it being decades old.