Previously happy LP12 owners who moved on.....

[SONDEKNZ]

"I've always felt that LP12s are often held back by the arms. Linn arms are ok but other people make better ones..."

+1 (100%)

After decades with our beautiful LINN Ittok LVII - one careful previous owner that barely used the entire deck at all - the new WAND Plus 9.5" arm has been an absolute revelation!

[If anyone is looking for a completely original (silver) LINN ITTOK LVII that has NOT been abused or tinkered with, PM me...]

 

[Eoin]

What’s the best arm on an LP12? Obvious t the Aro is well liked, and for whatever reason (weight?) the SME is not.

Wonder how an SME v would go on an LP12 that’s on the mushrooms.

 

[Mr Pig]

What’s the best arm on an LP12?

Oh wow, here we go! ;0) Not a contentious debate at all obviously...

Linn sheeps will tell you the LP12 only works properly with Linn arm. This is obviously shite as the LP12 built its reputation using other people's arms prior to Linn building their own. Or rather having arms with their name on manufactured in Japan.

Linn arms do work of course but are mostly dreadful value. The Ittok and Ekos are old and hard to fix but have a dynamic, powerful sound and great bass. Not the last word in refinement or fluidity but fun. The Ekos SE is very good but brutally expensive and by all accounts the...

Audio Origami PU7 is at least as good, if not better, and miles cheaper. A lot pf people consider this the best arm you can put on an LP12.

The Aro was very popular, mostly because Naim made it and it matched the forward sound of their amps well. It's just a unipivot and shares the usual unipivot attributes. Beguiling midrange and organic fluidity but a bit soft in the bass and treble and not as dynamic as you might like. Good choice if you want to end up playing a lot of female vocal and don't care about cartridge alignment. Other unipivots, like the Nima, will be similar.

The SME v was never a popular arm on the Linn. Some loved them but most found them a bit bland sounding.

My choice? Rega RB3000. Man it punches above its price and to me gives a perfect balance between the slam of a Linn arm and the flow of a unipivot. I've got an Ania Pro on it now and it's so good I don't want to change a thing. A brilliant arm and sadly overlooked by many blinkered LP12 owners.

 

[Isobarik]

I bought my LP12 with a fitted SME Series III, soon changed to a Rega RB300.

 

[MVV]

I wouldn't put a really good arm on a Linn all it will do is make matters worse. Mind you I wouldn't buy a Linn at all any more.

 

[SteveG]

My LP12 still has an SME3009 on it.

In recent years I've come to the happy conclusion that I mostly care about whether the music is enjoyable rather than worrying whether it's accurate. So while I've certainly got more accurate sources none are more enjoyable than my ancient LP12 - which is also one of the reasons I've never upgraded it.

 

[Mr Pig]

My LP12 still has an SME3009 on it.

In recent years I've come to the happy conclusion that I mostly care about whether the music is enjoyable rather than worrying whether it's accurate. So while I've certainly got more accurate sources none are more enjoyable than my ancient LP12 - which is also one of the reasons I've never upgraded it.

An LP12 of any vintage should be really enjoyable to listen to but it's depressingly easy to lose the magic through poor component choices or set up. I've had good and bad LP12s.

 

[Jazzer]

Oh wow, here we go! ;0) Not a contentious debate at all obviously...

Linn sheeps will tell you the LP12 only works properly with Linn arm. This is obviously shite as the LP12 built its reputation using other people's arms prior to Linn building their own. Or rather having arms with their name on manufactured in Japan.

Linn arms do work of course but are mostly dreadful value. The Ittok and Ekos are old and hard to fix but have a dynamic, powerful sound and great bass. Not the last word in refinement or fluidity but fun. The Ekos SE is very good but brutally expensive and by all accounts the...

Audio Origami PU7 is at least as good, if not better, and miles cheaper. A lot pf people consider this the best arm you can put on an LP12.

The Aro was very popular, mostly because Naim made it and it matched the forward sound of their amps well. It's just a unipivot and shares the usual unipivot attributes. Beguiling midrange and organic fluidity but a bit soft in the bass and treble and not as dynamic as you might like. Good choice if you want to end up playing a lot of female vocal and don't care about cartridge alignment. Other unipivots, like the Nima, will be similar.

The SME v was never a popular arm on the Linn. Some loved them but most found them a bit bland sounding.

My choice? Rega RB3000. Man it punches above its price and to me gives a perfect balance between the slam of a Linn arm and the flow of a unipivot. I've got an Ania Pro on it now and it's so good I don't want to change a thing. A brilliant arm and sadly overlooked by many blinkered LP12 owners.

I will stick with my Ittok LV11, thanks
I admit that it’s not the most refined sounding device but it works so well on the type of music that I listen to that I really dont care.
I don’t even understand what the term ‘fluidity‘ is when applied to music anyway.
It always seems to be by unipivot users but I can’t relate the term to rock, pop, blues or folk, at all.

An added plus of the Ittok is that it is one of the very best looking arms ever made imho, and I get as much pleasure looking at its ‘Brunel‘ construction as I do listening to It.
Now that can’t be bad. lol

 

[guydarryl]

Oh wow, here we go! ;0) Not a contentious debate at all obviously...

Linn sheeps will tell you the LP12 only works properly with Linn arm. This is obviously shite as the LP12 built its reputation using other people's arms prior to Linn building their own. Or rather having arms with their name on manufactured in Japan.

Linn arms do work of course but are mostly dreadful value. The Ittok and Ekos are old and hard to fix but have a dynamic, powerful sound and great bass. Not the last word in refinement or fluidity but fun.………….

Interesting to see what you think about the Ittok - bought mine years ago (second hand black one for about £150 fitted) and when i first heard it i was shocked by the difference it made compared to the original Basik + .
exactly as you describe it : “ dynamic, powerful sound and great bass, “
like @Jazzer - no intention of changing. And it does look beautiful too

 

[Mr Pig]

I will stick with my Ittok LV11, thanks
I admit that it’s not the most refined sounding device but it works so well on the type of music that I listen to that I really don't care.

That's fine. Lots of happy Ittok users out there and it is the sexiest arm ever made. For me it's just too coloured and I got fed up with it picking the records I played. Too much of the music I love wasn't getting listened to because it sounded bad under the Ittok.

 

[Mr Pig]

Interesting to see what you think about the Ittok - bought mine years ago (second hand black one for about £150 fitted) and when i first heard it i was shocked by the difference it made compared to the original Basik +

I'm not even thinking about the Basik. It is what it is, a very budget tonearm which got you going but nothing more. Any cast Rega arm destroys it and of course the Ittok is miles better. The Ittok is a proper hi-fi arm, the Basik isn't.

 

[guydarryl]

Reading this i must have a really coloured system - ittok, pre cirkus, glued steel sub, valve power amp.
its only rock n roll but i like it

 

[guydarryl]

I'm not even thinking about the Basik. It is what it is, a very budget tonearm which got you going but nothing more. Any cast Rega arm destroys it and of course the Ittok is miles better. The Ittok is a proper hi-fi arm, the Basik isn't.

Quite right - not in the same league.
i did sell it a few years later for about the same amount as i paid for the Ittok, so it certainly served its purpose.

 

[Mr Pig]

Reading this i must have a really coloured system..

Nothing wrong with that?

 

[guydarryl]

Possibly the wrong place to admit this, but i never have quite understood a lot of “hifi criteria” , but i know when i am enjoying putting a record on.

 

[rn82497]

I'm lucky - I've a SUPATRAC Blackbird on mine.My last TT Arm.

 

[SONDEKNZ]

I'm lucky - I've a SUPATRAC Blackbird on mine. My last TT Arm.

I feel the same about our WAND Plus 9.5" tonearm.

It's nice when you arrive, isn't it?

 

[chris@panteg]

I’m becoming suspicious that you’ve ever heard a properly set up sprung LP12.

This is Peter Swain's argument against the insoles,I asked him what he thought.
He said basically the way the springs are set up is critical and many just aren't done right.

 

[Jazzer]

This is Peter Swain's argument against the insoles,I asked him what he thought.
He said basically the way the springs are set up is critical and many just aren't done right.

That’s fine if you have a local dealer with a really good reputation for set up, but not great for those that live out in the sticks and don’t have much spare cash.

 

[SONDEKNZ]

In my experience, the guys that think that correctly setting-up a sprung LP12 is tantamount to rocket science, are the same guys who have never ventured beneath the top-plate.

Yes, you have to take care that everything is just right and level; that the top-plate screws are straight and true; that the bounce is vertical and has reasonable decay; that the gap around the arm-board is even-stevens; and that the belt is neither too tight nor too loose; etc, etc.

But frankly, it is just not that hard.

To suggest that anyone who prefers the LP12 sound with the Silicone Mushrooms / Insoles - without the LINN springs - must have had a faulty sprung set-up is typical LINN brain-washing IMHO.