I feel that once his mind’s made up about hi-fi, it takes a great deal for him to change it. He also has a special affection for & investment in the LP12.
I'd rather you didn't make assumptions about my motivations. I used the LP12 for over thirty years and decided to sell it in ten minutes when I had something I thought was better. Turned out I was wrong but I dropped Naim after twenty years and was right about that. I use what plays music the best and what's in my budget.
So, what was Rega doing wrong? I'm genuinely interested.
Tricky to explain.
Imagine you're at a small local blues gig, standing near the front. Band are really good and you're getting totally lost in the music. Now, most of what you are hearing is coming through a PA, and maybe it's a good PA but totally uncoloured it ain't. Let's say the vocals are a bit pinched and nasally, bass isn't as tight as it could be and room issues are causing a bit of boom.
But you are in zero doubt that you're hearing great live music as, apart from the fact you can see them, the playing is tight, punchy and sounds like real people playing real instruments. Vocals cut and soar and you can feel the bass in the floor.
For me, the job of a Hi-Fi system is to convince you that you are listening to real musicians playing real music. It's not about an absolute lack of colouration or maximum detail, it's about the illusion that you are hearing live music and not a recording. There is a balance there and if it is tipped enough in the right way, you're gone. It's not a stereo system anymore, it's just you listening to the band.
My system does that. I'd describe it as sounding like a very good PA. Yes, it has colouration but it puts people in the room. The RP10 doesn't. OK, with very good recordings it's not bad but most records sound..like you're listening to a record. It's so clean and clear, so stripped bare, that there is no body to the sound. A P-bass sounds like a very clear cardboard cut-out of a P-bass, but you don't feel that weight and power. Singers sound clear and detailed but they don't sound, real. Hollow, they have no substance.
The LP12 has much more realistic weight and tonality to the sound. Of course if your system has been chosen for lack of colouration and maximum detail without attention towards realistic tonality or lack of artifacts that sound wrong it might not sound like real music no matter what the front end is. Many systems sound ok at low volume but as soon as they're loud enough to actually hear what they're doing the illusion is lost. The LP12 sounds like real people playing real music, for all it's faults. Of course it does have to be working right! Well matched, set up properly and yeah, that isn't a given. It's a chore I could live without but the rewards are worth it.
The other aspect of the RP10 I couldn't accept was more to do with musical integration. Music flows and hangs together better on the LP12. I'm sure it has to do with the presentation of micro-timing information. Reggatta de Blank is one of my all time favorite albums and the playing on it is stunning. The band are so tight and Stuart Copland's playing is amazing. Loads of subtle timing shifts and accents which change a tiny bit with each bar. It's just wonderful. On the RP10, while the macro timing and dynamics are great, it just does not hook you up to the subtlety of his playing in the way the LP12 does. You're impressed, but on the Linn you're captivated, enthralled and in love. I've never been able to listen to this album on CD for the same reason. Too much is missing.
The overall effect is that the LP12 connects you to the artists more effectively. You're impressed with the Hi-Fi on the Rega, you're in love with the music on the Linn. There is a reason people are still buying, upgrading and loving this deck after fifty years. It's got something special going for it.
I disagree with the assertion that the Rega is more even handed. Sure, the Linn can favor some records over others but it's a matching issue and not inherent to the deck itself. Mainly down to Linn tonearms actually but get it right and they play anything. The RP10 is too analytical and if a recording is bad you can hear it clearly enough to stop you enjoying it. Technically, the Rega is a more accurate record player but I really don't care.
Also, the argument that 'Ah, but that's the RP10, the P10 is different'. The P10 is just a development of the RP10, which is a development of the same philosophies found the P9. They have the same family sound and the same issues apply. I was hearing the same sorts of objections to the P9 years ago and the same is true of the P10 today. I know of a very good dealer who won't stock the 'plastic' Rega turntables because they sound wrong. My local Linn/Rega dealer sells the top Rega decks but tellingly, none of the guys who work there use one. All use LP12s.
Plus, you can swaps bits on the Linn until it sounds exactly the way you want. I'm not a fan of the way Linn have gone and have little interest in the majority of their crazily overpriced products but the LP12 is a fechin good record player. I love Rega, great products, great value and fantastic people but they lose this fight.