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Most impactful LP12 related upgrades

R

RolfeZ

pfm Member
Hi all

Sitting on a rainy day thinking about upgrading my vintage LP12 I am looking back on the upgrades I've done over the years and what impact they've had and wondering what other people have done and what their perception was. My most impactful upgrades have been:

1. Target wall shelf (on outside wall with foundation away from speakers)
2. Ekos 2 (replacing an Ittok LVIII/2 no less!) - that one surprised me as I feared that I couldn't tell the diff.
3. Lingo replacing Valhalla (girlfriend spontaneously exclaiming "wow, what have you done to the hifi"?)
4. Klyde replacing an Ortofon MC20 super (obviously the Klyde was made to fit my Linn arm, and later a Troika proved that point)

Anyone cares to share their experiences?

Cheers,
Rolf
 
I had the following done to my LP12 + Ittok III in this order because my Linn dealer suggested this was the best way to actually profit from the changes

1 - Lingo mk2 (I got it for the price of the mk1 as they changed over in the period between ordering and receiving the Lingo)
2- Cirkus bearing
3 - Linto
4 - Troika
5 - arm cable

The least noticeable upgrade was the Linn arm cable - says more about that cable than tonearm cables in general.

Then upgrade prices went through the roof and I worked out it would be cheaper to buy a secondhand SME 20 add a brand new SME V arm and mk3 SME 20 power supply than continue upgrading the LP12. The sale of the LP12 and the price of either the Keel of the Ekos covered the outlay on the SME :) The fact that the local LP12 expert had let me know he would be retiring shortly also influenced the choice of SME which I've never regretted.
 
RolfeZ said:
Hi all

Sitting on a rainy day thinking about upgrading my vintage LP12 I am looking back on the upgrades I've done over the years and what impact they've had and wondering what other people have done and what their perception was. My most impactful upgrades have been:

1. Target wall shelf (on outside wall with foundation away from speakers)
2. Ekos 2 (replacing an Ittok LVIII/2 no less!) - that one surprised me as I feared that I couldn't tell the diff.
3. Lingo replacing Valhalla (girlfriend spontaneously exclaiming "wow, what have you done to the hifi"?)
4. Klyde replacing an Ortofon MC20 super (obviously the Klyde was made to fit my Linn arm, and later a Troika proved that point)

Anyone cares to share their experiences?

Cheers,
Rolf
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. I'm wanting to improve my LP12 as its lightyears behind my Spacedeck. Interesting to know what brought you the biggest gains.
 
RolfeZ said:
Hi all

Sitting on a rainy day thinking about upgrading my vintage LP12 I am looking back on the upgrades I've done over the years and what impact they've had and wondering what other people have done and what their perception was. My most impactful upgrades have been:

1. Target wall shelf (on outside wall with foundation away from speakers)
2. Ekos 2 (replacing an Ittok LVIII/2 no less!) - that one surprised me as I feared that I couldn't tell the diff.
3. Lingo replacing Valhalla (girlfriend spontaneously exclaiming "wow, what have you done to the hifi"?)
4. Klyde replacing an Ortofon MC20 super (obviously the Klyde was made to fit my Linn arm, and later a Troika proved that point)

Anyone cares to share their experiences?

Cheers,
Rolf
Click to expand...
Number 3 for me. When I pulled out the Valhalla and installed the Lingo 1 the words “Flippin Eck!” Came out of my mouth. Karousel is the biggest wow since then but I had Kore done at the same time so difficult to say which had most impact.
 
Of all the intrinsic upgrades I did (i.e. excluding arms, carts) by far the two biggest sonically were:

1. Standard motor supply to Valhalla.
2. Valhalla to Lingo.

The upgrade to Lingo was especially astonishing. I would never have believed the sonic improvement from simply improving the psu (despite being a Naim user at the time).

The Lingo did, however, fu*k up my subsequent Naim CDi, so I flogged it to a chap called Andrew Weekes and - for those of us with long memories - the rest is history!
 
For me it was

1. At440mla -- at33ptg/ii
2. Cirkus -- Karousel

3. Hercules -- Lingo 1
4. Khan
Etc.

#3 and lower not really necessary.
 
Karousel was a big grin, Radikal 1 to Radikal 2 was a Cheshire cat grin and has made me apprentice every lp i pull out ,some which i thought were pretty men previously.
 
Tough one. Many changes over the years to the point there's almost nothing left of the original deck I bought in the mid 80's

So from memory changes I made that I would not go back to it's previous incarnation (not because it was just awful but because the change was so much more listenable).

1. Top of the list for sure, original bearing to Cirkus
2. Ekos Mk1 to Ekos Mk2 - ahead of below as it was upgraded prior.
3. Analogue Innovations Sole Mk5 to Mk8? (latest Keel like subchassis).
 
1. Original bearing to Cirkus.
2. Valhalla to Lingo 1

Regarding upgrades, though. I do find that we often appear to make comparisons without knowledge of the exact condition of the original item we're comparing to. (which could well be the case for both of my examples above)
 
There is a tendency for many to believe that the more an LP12 upgrade costs, the more impact it makes on improving the sound.

Depending upon which upgrade we are talking about, this can be true.

But there are also some very cheap and simple tweaks and upgrades that make an enormous difference - for the better!

After more than 20-years of dicking around and experimenting, here's my personal...

LP12 TOP-10 UPGRADE PRIORITY LIST:

1. AUDIO SILENTE SILICONE MUSHROOMS
2. HIGH WATTAGE DC LPS / PIMPED SPEED CONTROL UNIT / DC MOTOR / MOTOR-MOUNTING
3. BEARING / CORRECT LUBRICANT
4. SUB-CHASSIS
5. JOINTLESS SILICONE BELT / LOOSE ADJUSTMENT
6. UTTERLY RIGID PLINTH-TO-SUPPORT BOND
7. LIGHT & RIGID TURNTABLE SUPPORT
8. TONEARM / UNBROKEN PHONO CABLE / PHONO CONNECTORS
9. CARTRIDGE / PHONO STAGE (LOADING) PARTNERSHIP
10. TURNTABLE MAT

* I have highlighted in bold, those upgrades that I feel give the very best bang for $$$!

As I am about to (finally) upgrade to the STACK AUDIO ALTO armboard - and dispense with the original "lossy" bond between our STACK AUDIO ALTO sub-chassis and our current laminated armboard - I am unable to state where the armboard fits on this priority list.

I hope to report on this, before the year is out. :D

Once that final upgrade is complete, our dear old LP12 - Serial Number 59545 - will be receiving a long-overdue plinth refurbishment.

LP12MUSHROOMSANDWAND1.jpg.6e1162586929c407b9b67395d71a1b29.jpg
 
Mushrooms. I have the John R ones, God rest his soul, but the Audio Silente ones are still available. To my ear they make the biggest difference to the LP12's wandering pitch, bringing the deck a lot closer to the unflappable pitch accuracy of the best DD, idler, and well-designed belt decks.

I have heard most other LP12 upgrades including the Klimax ones.

My Sondek is Lingo, Stack Alto, Karousel, Blackbird, Uphorik.

The mushrooms are the elephant in the room.
 
sonddek said:
The mushrooms are the elephant in the room.
Click to expand...

So true!

I am not naive enough to believe that LINN themselves do NOT keep a watchful eye on the ever-industrious global LP12 DIY threads, so...

I wonder how long it will be before the official LINN "mushies" arrive and herald in a whole new era of LP12 popularity?

They will - of course - be made of a hitherto unknown, unique "secret-sauce" compound with a groovy LINN name...

The new LINN "KUSHIONS" should be front-runner name, I think... :D
 
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