The 1012 isn't the best cartridge on earth but there is nothing wrong with it. Why are we still talking about what this one guy thinks? Who really cares?
TAS review of Linn LP-12 Majik
- Thread starter chris geary
- Start date
The 1012 isn't the best cartridge on earth but there is nothing wrong with it. Why are we still talking about what this one guy thinks? Who really cares?
Joe
pfm Member
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I have owned three over the years and I would happily own another...they're not that bad as turntables go, but...I would buy secondhand and save a packet over the price of what they are now new.
Put an Audiomods arm on my last one and ran it with a Hercules power supply. Sounded fine to me.
Guess I am easily pleased.
I have owned three over the years and I would happily own another...they're not that bad as turntables go, but...I would buy secondhand and save a packet over the price of what they are now new.
Put an Audiomods arm on my last one and ran it with a Hercules power supply. Sounded fine to me.
Guess I am easily pleased.
tpetsch
...The rhythm has Control
Amazing how you're still going on about the now long discontinued "RP"10, your continued attempts to have us believe that Rega has basically stopped making any real turntable improvements over the past 10 years are both laughable & exhausting, how about the fact that Linn hasn't built any significant new clean sheet designed decks in over 50 years that wasn't basically a copy of an already existing design in the first place?
In short it's in the best interest of the Linn dealer -one that also happens to sell Rega or pretty much any other competing deck- to sell/push LP12's along with Linns potentiality profitable and neverending "upgrade" path in the hope that it gets ass's back into their shop in the future to buy more stuff, the ability to create repeat business is key to shop profitability. No Linn dealer worth their salt would push a Rega no matter how good they are, it's a simply business decision. I know a few Linn dealers, worked for one on & off for over 20 years and we wouldn't even stock the more expensive Regas, didn't matter if they were any good, they weren't in our business plan, sure we would custom order one but I don't recall that ever happening if we could help it, sold bunches of P3's and if a customer had more money to spend we'd push the LP12 as the only obvious choice from there.
And Linn shop employees mainly buy/own LP12's because yes they're musical decks but also because they can usually obtain traded-in ones cheap as dealers offer the customer next to nothing for used ones yet only really prefer to sell customers new ones for the most part to stay connected to the manufacturer and continue to buy product to maintain the line. The shop I was at had well over a dozen at most times that I could have had for a song and then upgrade or repair myself with even more used parts about the shop very inexpensively, Hi-Fi shop employees don't make much money FWIW. In fact a friend of mine has several LP12's in his basement right now that I can have inexpensively -or borrow indefinitely for free- but I chose to pay out real money to purchase & listen to a P10, zero regrets, love it!. Sure the LP12's look great in a retro 70's kind of way, I'll give you that, but the P8/10 are also beautiful in a minimalist & purposeful way in how they utilize modern materials chosen for their unique characteristics to achieve a goal.
Joe
pfm Member
It's not a competition though is it ?..or it shouldn't be. Buy Rega , buy Linn . Buy whatever tickles ones fancy.
It gets problematic when someone feels the need to tell someone else that their choice is rubbish.
Your tale more damns Linn dealers for their retailing behaviour more than it elevates one deck over another....and that it the fault of Linn headquarters who have always been aggressive in the marketplace.
It gets problematic when someone feels the need to tell someone else that their choice is rubbish.
Your tale more damns Linn dealers for their retailing behaviour more than it elevates one deck over another....and that it the fault of Linn headquarters who have always been aggressive in the marketplace.
wiresandmore
pfm Member
It is a bit strange, I agree. Even if the brief was "review the Majik package, no change", I'm still surprised the reviewer didn't at least contact Linn or the US importer to say this isn't sounding right - I've seen this in Stereophile a few times, and in some cases review units get swapped out.
I'm assuming that he had no intention of liking it.
Those pesky dealers wanting to make money & stay in business.
Rega do market themselves very well but their adherents are never branded as sheep.
It will be interesting to see how well the new top Rega model does. I’m not a massive fan of their minimalist looks & we often buy with our eyes.
When I auditioned a P10 last year I thought it was pretty good, the dealer also stocked Linn & he was definitely more enthusiastic about the LP12. He did offer a home demo of the P10 though, he was of the opinion that the LP12 was ‘better’.
I’m not really sure what to make of this as there was no real advantage to him to push the LP12 as I already had one; the potential upgrades would have probably been less profitable than selling me a P10?
Rega do market themselves very well but their adherents are never branded as sheep.
It will be interesting to see how well the new top Rega model does. I’m not a massive fan of their minimalist looks & we often buy with our eyes.
When I auditioned a P10 last year I thought it was pretty good, the dealer also stocked Linn & he was definitely more enthusiastic about the LP12. He did offer a home demo of the P10 though, he was of the opinion that the LP12 was ‘better’.
I’m not really sure what to make of this as there was no real advantage to him to push the LP12 as I already had one; the potential upgrades would have probably been less profitable than selling me a P10?
John
Rack’em Up!
Or Linn refused to place a one year full page ad in their magazine.
John
Rack’em Up!
Just to be clear, isn’t it your opinion that the pre-Cirkus black lined bearing and its subchassis of that era is the most musical LP12?
Tony L
Administrator
As stated earlier my money is on the reviewer not understanding MM cartridge loading. Sadly very few people do these days. The irony being it was largely the Linn/Naim ideological minimalism and dealer choice-limitation that killed that knowledge.
I’m not seeing any conspiracy theory here, though I’ve no dog in this race. Very lazy review though if the reviewer didn’t swap the cartridge out to a known reference point after their findings.
I've not heard the Karousel bearing and the Stack Audio alloy sub-chassis I've fitted are pretty likable but yes, I always enjoy the pre-cirkus bearing. I have two LP12s just now. The lower spec one has a pre-Cirkus bearing and I find that deck very involving indeed. It has an openness and airiness, music is more lifelike. In Hi-Fi terms it is worse but the music is great.
Even very old LP12s with the crappy capacitor PSU sound really bouncy and engaging. It's why the deck took off in the first place. The reputation of the LP12 was built on the pre-Cirkus bearing.
Is it so incredulous to suppose a reviewer may be underwhelmed by the sound of a RRP 3.5k table with a circa 200 quid cart (1042)?
If one divorce themselves from the Linn heritage and other associated factors, and operates on a price/performance ratio, it doesn't seem all that implausible. A lot of table to be had for 3.5k. I do wonder if the package was priced circa 2k, would the appraisal change...
All that being said, I really doubt this reviews affects sales - as others have said, some folks just want an LP12.
If one divorce themselves from the Linn heritage and other associated factors, and operates on a price/performance ratio, it doesn't seem all that implausible. A lot of table to be had for 3.5k. I do wonder if the package was priced circa 2k, would the appraisal change...
All that being said, I really doubt this reviews affects sales - as others have said, some folks just want an LP12.
per-Sony-fied
Me in another jacket
During my many years of ownership I have used a fair oll variety of cartridges & within them I tried these: K9/K18 & Arkiv. Currently my most present I have attached a Arkiv although a s/h purchase.
John
Rack’em Up!
I’ve always used Linn MC cartridges,Troika, Klyde, Asaka with my Ekos2 tonearm and Exposure 13 phono preamp. I’ve had them rebuilt by Linn, Expert Stylus and Goldring over the years. They all sound great to me and very compatible with the tonearm and preamp. I did try a Dynavector DV XX-1L some years ago but thought it was pretty dreadful and a poor match for the tonearm.
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popol_vuh
pfm Member
If I had the money and space, I'd love to have both P8/10 and LP12 along my Gyrodec (along with Kuzma Stabi R), which I'd never sell. I just love turntables. I think all of these are fantastic machines. People say quite often they don't like the look of skeletal Regas...I think P8 and 10 look truly great. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to hear them in a familiar system. I do have a soft spot for Regas because P3-24 was my first TT, which I've modded quite a bit, set up my first (non-Rega) carts on it and learned a lot on rhat TT. Never had one problem with it.
richards13
pfm Member
When a Denon 103 is rebodied and modified that is fine. But when Linn re body and modify a Goldring cartridge that is obviously a devious rip off of people who are too stupid to know otherwise?
Tony L
Administrator
Zu.
I thought they just sold the bodies.