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The Karousel has landed

There have been changes to both Linn inner and outer platters particularly early on. Most people are unaware because even LP12 history documents people commonly look at do not mention them. Up to 76 the platters were much heavier than modern platters.

For example modern outer platters do not fit early inner platters. See this thread here
https://www.hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/151920-linn-sondek-lp12-serial-no-001441/

The situation in this thread is the reverse that I have not seen mentioned before. I would think it unlikely that the very early platters that were around 0.6kg heavier will be a problem. It looks to me as though the issue is with some of the lighter platters introduced from around 77 through to the 80's.
 
Tony L said:
By ‘bowed’ are you referring to what as a record dealer I’d refer to as being ‘dished’, i.e. the centre raised or lowered? If so I have no idea how that could occur given the machined nature of the construction. Anyone got an explanation?
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"Dished" would mean dish-like, i.e. the outside higher than the inner. These are bowed, domed, so the other way round. I did give my best shot at explaining the likely reason for this previously, & no one seems to have a better one so far. I do have a fair bit of engineering knowledge acquired in my past life.
 
wylton said:
I cannot comprehend that people would drop their platters or even treat them roughly.
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I'm going to speculate that they don't mean to?

The platters are actually quite soft. They are made of the same alloy as old Dinky and Matchbox cars and it's quite soft. Dropping them totally can bend them.

However I am also sure there have been manufacturing issues as well. The friend who's brand new platter which didn't fit on the older sub-platter, that wasn't a crazy old LP12. Linn had made the hole in the platter smaller, they admitted it. I've also heard of platters being out of balance because of air bubbles in the casting.

I don't think their manufacturing quality is as tight as it used to be. I noticed a few little things when building this LP12. Nothing terrible, just the fit and quality not being quite what it used to be.
 
Enfield boy said:
Shhh, they're watching, ready to introduce the new DisKo, guaranteed to be 100% flat and perfektly cirkular. Only £1199.50, dealer fit only.
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My bet would be that they are working on a new platter. Or have at least looked at it in the past.
 
Nah, they'll make a piggy-back platter to put on top, to make it look like a Solstice
 
It’s a product with a near 50 year lifespan, hardly surprising that there are some variations.

I think my platter hails from around 1982, I have had the cirkus upgrade. I may well hedge my bets by going for a stack sub chassis upgrade rather than a Kore in case I need a new platter.
 
My 1982 outer platter didn't fit properly on my 1992 Cirkus inner platter. The outer platter was just a "smidge" too small to fit correctly. We're talking less than a mm but it stood a little prous
d of the inner platter. Don't know if its anything to do with the vintage or just poor manufacturing QC. In any event, I eventually traded it in for a 1997 LP12 with corner braces and additional top bolt. Just awaiting fitting my Karousel and L4 when I work up the energy.
 
Mr Pig said:
I'm going to speculate that they don't mean to?

The platters are actually quite soft. They are made of the same alloy as old Dinky and Matchbox cars and it's quite soft. Dropping them totally can bend them.

However I am also sure there have been manufacturing issues as well. The friend who's brand new platter which didn't fit on the older sub-platter, that wasn't a crazy old LP12. Linn had made the hole in the platter smaller, they admitted it. I've also heard of platters being out of balance because of air bubbles in the casting.

I don't think their manufacturing quality is as tight as it used to be. I noticed a few little things when building this LP12. Nothing terrible, just the fit and quality not being quite what it used to be.
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I had my LP12 upgraded back in March/April, I had a Kore sub-chassis arm board fitted along with karousel amongst other bits. Well it turns out (after reading this thread) I have discovered that the outer platter is marginally higher than the new inner platter, I’m not loosing any sleep over it though as this is only covered by the record label and I for one do not use a record clamp, but what I have done, is to relocate the three pieces of double sided sticky tape to keep my Collaro mat in position. I am also wondering how many people have clocked their platter to find any improvement in the sound output, it worked for me.
 
I suppose the question is whether it is higher because it is thicker or because it isn´t actually in intimate contact flush with the surface of the inner. This latter possibility would presumably be bad news
 
So, interesting addition to the platter discussion...

I built up an LP12 including a 2018 platter bought on here. Once done, I noticed that the platter was out of balance. Local Linn dealer said 'it must have been dropped' so today I went in to collect a new platter.

First, I put my platter onto a deck in the shop to check it was indeed the platter that was causing the wobble. Yip. Brand new platter was brought up and I asked if I could check it before I took it away. It was in a sealed box brand new from Linn, opened the box myself. Sat it on the deck and... wobble! Not quite as bad as mine but what the heck?

So I apologized and said I wasn't paying £200 for a platter that wasn't balanced. I've had and worked on LP12 for thirty years and I've never seen this on older decks. Something not right.
 
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Chris said:
I suppose the question is whether it is higher because it is thicker or because it isn´t actually in intimate contact flush with the surface of the inner.
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I don't think the machining tolerances are what they used to be. I'm going to go with the later.
 
Mr Pig said:
So, interesting addition to the platter discussion...

I built up an LP12 including a 2018 platter bought on here. Once done, I noticed that the platter was out of balance. Local Linn dealer said 'it must have been dropped' so today I went in to collect a new platter.

First, I put my platter onto a deck in the shop to check it was indeed the platter that was causing the wobble. Yip. Brand new platter was brought up and I asked if I could check it before I took it away. It was in a sealed box brand new from Linn, opened the box myself. Sat it on the deck and... wobble! Not quite as bad as mine but what the heck?

So I apologized and said I wasn't paying £200 for a platter that wasn't balanced. I've had and work on LP12 for thirty years and I've never seen this on older decks. Something not right.
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Should have tried the outer platter on one of their decks.

You might want to unplug the arm cable from the tonearm to see if it is having a effect on the suspension. Oh wait, you’re not able to.
 
Mr Pig said:
So, interesting addition to the platter discussion...

I built up an LP12 including a 2018 platter bought on here. Once done, I noticed that the platter was out of balance. Local Linn dealer said 'it must have been dropped' so today I went in to collect a new platter.

First, I put my platter onto a deck in the shop to check it was indeed the platter that was causing the wobble. Yip. Brand new platter was brought up and I asked if I could check it before I took it away. It was in a sealed box brand new from Linn, opened the box myself. Sat it on the deck and... wobble! Not quite as bad as mine but what the heck?

So I apologized and said I wasn't paying £200 for a platter that wasn't balanced. I've had and work on LP12 for thirty years and I've never seen this on older decks. Something not right.
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I was contemplating getting a brand new outer platter to replace my tarnished but straight 1987 edition. I don't think I will bother now.
 
James said:
I was contemplating getting a brand new outer platter to replace my tarnished but straight 1987 edition. I don't think I will bother now.
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You just need to make sure you try it in the shop. They can't all be like that, if a lot of them were we'd know about it. Has to be a rare occurrence but it shouldn't happen at all. Maybe they don't check them, maybe they have a tolerance. Not impressed.

What I am impressed with is the price. I think £200 for a platter is good, for Linn. You even get a new felt mat with it.
 
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