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LP 12 with Lingo 1

As others have suggested, I would get the Lingo fixed first and worry about upgrades later. I had my Lingo 1 serviced at Class A & turnaround was pretty quick.
 
Yes get Darren at Class A to repair and recap your Lingo 1.
You can then think about any further changes or upgrades in your own time
without feeling under pressure to do so..
 
Thank you all for the great advice!!
I live in California USA, so most likely difficult to ship it to Darren at Class A.
 
Have you checked the fuse?

From the service manual...

Power-up Problems
Won’t power up. Power LED dead & no function
Constant
Fuse blown in unit and/or in mains plug.
Replace fuse(s) with correct value & type.
Fuse in mains lead should be 5A.
Fuse in Lingo should be “Slow Blow” – look for a ‘T’ before the rating on the fuse.
Correct type:
110/115V - 300mA
220/240V - 200mA​

Note that North American units will not have a fuse in the mains plug.

Should you require the services of a tech who doesn't happen to work for the Linn distributor or an authorised dealer then they will be wanting to have a look at the following [credit: @Jim Audiomisc for hosting these]...


BTW, Lingo_Service_Manual.pdf does not include schematics. I don't know how accurate there are, perhaps better than nothing...
 
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Since you live on the west coast you might try contacting Definitive Audio in Seattle. A few years ago their tech repaired my Linto, even though Linn no longer supports it.
 
It might just be the mains input filter that has blown and taken the internal fuse out. Did you notice a burning smell?
 
Unless I've missed something, repairing the Lingo and fitting a Karousel will outperform a Majik LP12. Assuming nothing is broken or warped.
 
From what I understand it's quite a straightforward repair. You could probably source the parts and get a local bod to fit them.

I’m sure a local tech could do the work.

L1110932.jpg
 
As a punter with a faulty power supply your options range from 'repair existing motor' to 'replace motor with new/used' (eg Lingo 4) or 'swap whole lot for new shiny thing'. The price differences between the options are considerable. I think coming at it fresh, the first thing you'd do is put in the Karousel (£750). But thanks to your Lingo 1 failing you need to get the power supply fixed too (cost, ?) or replace it (Lingo 4 is about £1200, used is still almost 4 figures).

I auditioned the Linn Majik Power supply against the Lingo 3 (which you'd have to get used) and Lingo 4 and it doesn't stand up to either. Plus it doesn't play 45's without faffing about (Lingo 4 does).

Say you get a new Lingo 4 and Karousel, that's £2k. That's £1.5k short of a new Majik, but you're getting a power supply that's far, far better than the one on the Majik. You could even throw in a Kore (£800 approx) and still make on the deal, adding a Lingo 4 and a Kore to the basic Majik are each significant improvements (I auditioned it myself).

I don't know what difference the Majik's grommets, platter, springs etc are going to make but if that needs doing you've still got quite a bit of headroom in your cost.

Given you said that you are happy with it as it is (if it worked) and that you haven't used it for a fortnight I think I'd be disinclined to rush out and replace it. Especially as you can make the 3 biggest sound improvements available (Karousel, Lingo 4, Kore) as 'component' upgrades. I'd be looking at them in that order, and also considering the cost of simply fixing your Lingo; you could add in Karousel and/or Kore if you wanted later.


Hi
Thank you for the advice.

I brought my LP 12 with Lingo 1 to a local Linn dealer / repair person in Los Angeles area and planned to upgrade my Cirkus bearing to Karousel, upgrade the subchasis to Kore, and repair my Lingo 1.

Unfortunately, due to my current Project Evolution 9cc tonearm, I was informed I have to replace it to Linn tonearm to upgrade Kore subchasis.

Perhaps, upgrade Lingo 1 to 4 and upgrade Cirkus to Karosuel??
 
What sub-chassis do you currently have, is it the standard Linn Cirkus sub-chassis ?

If you can’t fit a Kore sub-chassis then I guess you could use a Majik sub-chassis instead along
with your Project tonearm ? Or you could look at a 3rd party aluminium sub-chassis such as
the Stack Audio Alto sub-chassis that would allow you to attach any arm-board.

Definitely Yes to the Karousel, it is just so, so much better than the Cirkus bearing.

Otherwise get your Lingo 1 fixed in the first instance. Then see if you are happy with how it sounds.
It should still sound better than a Majik LP12 with the earlier tonearm because the Lingo 1 will well outperform the standard
Majik PSU.. Later on if you want to do so you can further upgrade the PSU and you would have a fully wirking Kingo 1 to either sell on or trade in..
 
Hi
Thank you for the advice.

I brought my LP 12 with Lingo 1 to a local Linn dealer / repair person in Los Angeles area and planned to upgrade my Cirkus bearing to Karousel, upgrade the subchasis to Kore, and repair my Lingo 1.

Unfortunately, due to my current Project Evolution 9cc tonearm, I was informed I have to replace it to Linn tonearm to upgrade Kore subchasis.

Perhaps, upgrade Lingo 1 to 4 and upgrade Cirkus to Karosuel??

I'm not familiar with your tonearm but yes there are compatibility issues sometimes and your dealer will no doubt advise.

This sounds like a great option, two strong improvements. It will take you well beyond just repairing your deck by fixing your Lingo, whether you want to make those steps depends on your own outlook. When I was auditioning I hadn't even considered the Kore (until I heard it!) and had just intended to fit a Lingo 4 . With the LP12 it can be hard to draw the line on incremental improvements because there is always 1 more thing. So leaving the Kore til another day (or not wanting it at all) is fine.
 
I was informed I have to replace it to Linn tonearm to upgrade Kore subchasis.

You don't have to use a Linn tonearm or a Linn sub-chassis. The dealer just wants you to because those are the options he'll make the money money on.
 
Darren fixed my Lingo1 a few years ago. Worked flawlessly since. Have added Tranquility and Krystal. Really happy with the sound.
 
Other option I am contemplating is Tiger Paw products, such as Javelin, their subchasis, etc

Any positive experience/ high recommendation alternative to Linn?

Thanks!
 


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