Linn LP 12 servicing and upgrade.
- Thread starter mcleanmuir
- Start date
Yes it’s incredible these experts get away with it, a fool and his money will always be parted.
Yes, many of us do, of course you can do it yourself, but a dealer has a jig to do it properly, the right oil for your bearing, more springs than you can shake a stick at to get the thing bouncing nicely, and more experience of more decks than I will ever have. I get my LP12 serviced regularly, but not frequently, usually when I need a new cartridge or fancy an upgrade. Once a decade without fail. So at about the price of a new record per year I don't feel too foolish, YMMV. That gets me new springs, belt, oil, correct alignment, advice on upgrades and anything that needs replacing, and a warm feeling somebody that really knows what they are doing has check all is OK. It has always served me well, and the deck always sounds better for it. I don't fancy messing about with a reasonably expensive cartridge getting setup and particularly VTA correct on my ARO, so I get the dealer to do it. Obviously you are Linn owners too with great experience of setup, I take my hat off to you, good stuff. I don't have the inclination to learn that skill but have respect for those that have.
I have always just used my local, typically ex-Linn/Naim dealer, audio excellence in Gloucester when i lived there, Gulliford in Exeter now I'm in Devon, both have done me proud. Not convinced you want to travel far and wide to get a service, but for those that go the extra mile, that is fine by me too!
I have always just used my local, typically ex-Linn/Naim dealer, audio excellence in Gloucester when i lived there, Gulliford in Exeter now I'm in Devon, both have done me proud. Not convinced you want to travel far and wide to get a service, but for those that go the extra mile, that is fine by me too!
Eyebroughty
JohnC
Yes, of course they need a service, any idea of what they consist of and how they are made, if not check the links below.
Basic engineering will tell you that anything that is in regular use will go slightly out of it's original specification, even electrical units do the same, a service brings it back to as near it's original condition as is possible. That's why companies have maintenance engineers and service engineers.
Of course there are experts who charge for it, even if you service your own car/bike a fully trained person will do a better job (in most cases) as they do many services not just one now and again.
In the case of an LP12 they have all the correct tools and the ability to listen/check against known original units as well as service specifications and manuals so can tell if the item in question is serviced/repaired/updated to an acceptable standard.
https://docs.linn.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Turntable_Maintenance
http://ukhhsoc.torrens.org/makers/Linn/LP12/Setup_Manual.pdf
scotty38
pfm Member
Bottom line here is, like most things, you can do it yourself or pay someone else to do it. There are many reasons why you may choose one path or the other. Some folk would take their computer to PC World for a check up but I couldn't imagine me doing that in a million years yet I'd happily pay Peter at Cymbiosis to twiddle my springs.....
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
An LP12 is way more complicated than a laptop...
I enjoyed the video in the post above but you’d think they were talking about the Space Shuttle! The guy assembling the Ekos- felt a bit sorry for his low tech life- quarter turn, count 100 swings, turn again count a hundred...
Darren L
Egalitarian
Yes,I have rebuilt, serviced and upgraded two LP12s, along with a Thorens TD160 and an STD305M. No issues.
Yes, I understand mechanical engineering, not electronics I might add.
I'd never let anyone service or work on my bikes, all the best classic bikes and cars I've came across in the past 30 years has been enthusiast built and maintained.
Yes, always best to have the correct tool for the correct job.
So too, sadly, are the worst examples. It's a function of the time you are prepared to put in and the money you are prepared to spend on spares. This very weekend I serviced a bike for a friend of mine. It didn't need a lot, brakes, cables, a tyre. It could have done with a new cable outer on one of the gear cables, I slapped it together and got it running. Was it set up with the precision I use on my own machine? No. Was it adequate? Certainly, more than. Would I have settled for that level of performance on my own bike? Nope. However the owner is delighted, she said the brakes had never been as good. My take on it is that it will get used half a dozen times this summer and if it comes back for a minor tweak in a few weeks I can have a look at skanky cable outers and the like then, at least it will have been used and things will either have freed up or stopped working altogether. Someone less fastidious than I might have settled for an even lower level of performance in this case, not to mention that some people just don't know how to get it absolutely right.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
My garage charges the same to service my Golf as the Linn dealer does to service the LP12 and he charges extra for the magic belt.
scotty38
pfm Member
I have a 1959 Series 2 Land Rover as well as a 2011 Defender. As it happens my Defender is just away having a service and MOT with my local Indy. It's also having rear discs, calipers and pads fitted. I could do all of that myself (except MOT obviously) but I choose not to as I need it done in a timely manner.
As for my Series 2 I will never pay for a spanner to touch it simply because I have no time constraint so I do it all myself as it makes no difference how long it takes.
Thorn
pfm Member
It's the same old story with beekeeping. Some make their hives, others buy them. Some people are handy, others not. Some people have time, others don't.
The things I did for a living could have been done by my clients. I'm grateful that they preferred to pay me to do them.
To me, any form of DIY is a penance. I'd rather pay to have things done for me, and spend time with my music or my bees.
The things I did for a living could have been done by my clients. I'm grateful that they preferred to pay me to do them.
To me, any form of DIY is a penance. I'd rather pay to have things done for me, and spend time with my music or my bees.
Yes quite. Turning the fuel pressure up on turbo'd cars to help prevent lean fuel mixtures. Except it isn't that simple and many people lost their engine because it ran lean. These numpties could not understand why it ran lean after the increase in fuel pressure.
Some of us have engineering skills a pen pusher can only dream of.
I've been called out on repairs quite a few times where an "engineer" has already had a go at fixing it.
Thorn
pfm Member
And some of us have pen pushing skills an engineer can only dream of.
forester
pfm Member
You don't have to travel 200 miles for a service if you don't want to (for much though not all of the UK), nor do you have to pay for it. My deck has always been serviced free whenever I've had an upgrade fitted, and the latest upgrade was a trade in purchased from my nearest main dealer. The fitting cost of upgrades is included in Linn's retail prices and there's not much left to service after you've fitted most of them anyway.