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TD125 Vs LP12

M

matt j

pfm Member
Going from TD125 -> LP12, considered an up/side/down grade?

Bear in mind I have zero LP12 knowledge, I'm not from that generation so the endless spec available seems like another language to me. My head says it's a side grade at best seeing as it's just another 3 point sprung fruit box.

I'm after a serious upgrade/final TT scenario, even if it means living with a less than ideal arm until the budget can stretch to 'the final arm' scenario etc..
 
A considerable upgrade.

It was in 1984, so no reason to think it wouldn’t be now.
 
Care to elaborate? I'm struggling to see how something technically inferior is a considerable upgrade.
 
Well, as someone who owned an LP12 for over twenty years, I'd now say that it was a downgrade, but then, what do I know?

Best advice? Use your own ears rather than rely on opinions.
 
Why not try a different design? I like my 125 but when I got a Gyro there was no mistaking it for a sideways move.
 
The TD125 is a superb deck and underrated in my view. It will rotate a LP quietly and accuratly at the right speed as well as could sensibly matter. Spend your money on a cartridge, arm or phono stage upgrade instead.
 
Mike P said:
The TD125 is a superb deck and underrated in my view. It will rotate a LP quietly and accuratly at the right speed as well as could sensibly matter. Spend your money on a cartridge, arm or phono stage upgrade instead.
Click to expand...

...and the 125 looks fab!

Sorry to lower the tone, I’ll get my coat.
 
I've owned 4 LP12's, TD150, numerous TD160, TD160S and a TD125. The only one I still have is a TD125. Does it sound better than an LP12? I think so, and it cost about 1/4 of the price of an LP12. I recently bought a good condition Garrard 401 and it might just have the edge over the TD125 - it sounds different but not sure it's 'better'. Here's a couple of pics of my TD125.

125_1.jpg


125_grace.jpg
 
matt j said:
Care to elaborate? I'm struggling to see how something technically inferior is a considerable upgrade.
Click to expand...

Direct comparison of both in a dealer years ago.

The difference was clear. The LP12 was better.

But why did I bother.
You seem to “know” the answer to your own question already despite admitting zero knowledge.
 
Only a fair comparison with the same cartridge and arm of course. The TD125 is superb mechanically.
 
I've owned two TD125s and didn't get on with either of them. I actually bought the second a few years after selling the first as I couldn't believe I'd been so disappointed and wondered if my first had been a "Friday afternoon" effort! however, no, the second proved to sound pretty much the same - competent and certainly not unpleasant but just rather bland and drab.

On that basis, I'd pick the LP12, personally. For all its faults, it is never bland.
 
Personally, I would much rather have a 125. It is a superbly built deck and will give decades of high end enjoyment without the need for regular upgrades that aren't.
 
Could this be down to the arm? How important are the spinny bits of a TT in the grand scheme of things, if it's spinning at the right speed what else can have such a drastic effect?

My 125 replaced a P9/Apheta that sounded so grey and dull I thought it was broke.
 
Bob McC said:
Direct comparison of both in a dealer years ago.

The difference was clear. The LP12 was better.

But why did I bother.
You seem to “know” the answer to your own question already despite admitting zero knowledge.
Click to expand...

I don't "know" the answer at all, part of me is saying this ancient TT should easily be bettered by something modern and more expensive, I'm talking night and day better, and yet I worry that sort of upgrade doesn't exist and it's just variations on a theme rather than taking leaps forward.
 
oldius said:
Personally, I would much rather have a 125. It is a superbly built deck and will give decades of high end enjoyment without the need for regular upgrades that aren't.
Click to expand...
I have upgraded my Linn with what I feel are sensible upgrades eg. Cirkus bearing, Majik subchassis and Rega rb330 arm.
Each of these items work together in a mechanical manner to produce a solid basis from which the cartridge can work.
I wonder whether the linn detractors have listened to a well set up deck that is on song.
Mine has been set up by myself and when persevering to get it right it can be plainly heard when it is not quite there and when it is singing.
 
In all fairness, the LP12 was a long overdue answer to the TD150 that had been introduced in 1955 as a better built answer to the AR Turntable, and initially the Linn only just met the performance of that Thorens model. I well remember comparing them new at the dealers, and the Linn either won or lost based upon what 3rd party tonearm was hanging on. The well healed bought the TD-125, based on fair dems, long before Linn started stacking the odds against the customer.

As to design/build, the TD-125, introduced in 1968, had as standard feature, an electronic power supply that Linn didn't quite manage to answer until 1982, and even then only at one speed to Thorens' three. In 1993, the Cirkus kit finally got the main bearing up to the Thorens standard, but the flimsy Linn sub-chassis had to wait until 2006 for Linn to recognize that they had that bit wrong all along. Yes, the TD-125 featured a 7Kg cast alloy sub-chassis with properly bolted on interchangeable arm boards (the style of which were later copied by Linn right down to the screw pattern) in 1968.

BTW, in 1979, whilst Linn were busy sourcing inferior plastic spring loaded cover hinges, and a full two years before they finally got round to grinding the ends of their springs flat (not to mention recognizing what nyloc nuts might be good for), Thorens had already begun production of this...

Thorens+Reference.jpg
 
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