Bob Edwards
pfm Member
I've picked up my LP12. Rick of Audio Alternative in Ft. Collins added a Karousel and Trampolin2 while rebuilding it (and fixing the Ekos VTF dial!). Part of his rebuild is to clean and polish everything on the table, inside and out. So it looks like a new turntable. As to how it sounds?
Wow. The Karousel stands out as the single biggest and unambiguous upgrade I've heard on an LP12, besting the Lingo and Cirkus. The Karousel makes music make more sense. Bass is more extended, tuneful, and responsive - if it should be soft and flabby, it is. Conversely, if it should be taut and lean, it is. The Karousel also reveals a great deal more detail across the frequency range, while at the same time integrating or organizing it more intelligibly. And as many others have noted, the reduction in background 'noise,' for lack of a better term, is striking. Voices are particularly well served. And this before the Karousel runs in.
The Karousel does the above while adding to what I think is the LP12's greatest strength - connecting the listener to the music. Put another way, the Karousel, I think because it allows so much more information to be retrieved, is even more involving - it seems to improve that sense of balance and inner drive that (for me) makes an LP12 so 'musical.' Or, if you prefer, it maintains the 'soul' of an LP12.
I also had the chance to hear an LP12 with Karousel and one with a relatively new Cirkus - same PS, arm, cartridge, etc. You can hear the difference instantly - we played Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges, and you could tell after the first two notes. They were better defined, more forceful, more together - and the Karousel revealed far more ambience. It also showed that while the VM95E on my table sounds better than a $69 cartridge has any right to, the table needs/deserves a better cartridge.
Replacing the new-style baseboard with the Trampolin2 isn't nearly as dramatic, but is worth doing. It improved focus and precision somewhat - enough to hear, but nothing like the Karousel. Worth the money to me.
I was also reminded of the value of servicing by someone who knows - REALLY knows - what they are doing. Even back when I worked for him, Rick had people from across the world sending him LP12s for servicing and upgrading. And if I understood why even then, my latest LP12 is a powerful and timely reminder.
My LP12 now sounds much more . . . powerful, clear, and musical than before. And if the money involved was almost as much as I paid for the deck, arm, and original cartridge, it was worth every penny.
Wow. The Karousel stands out as the single biggest and unambiguous upgrade I've heard on an LP12, besting the Lingo and Cirkus. The Karousel makes music make more sense. Bass is more extended, tuneful, and responsive - if it should be soft and flabby, it is. Conversely, if it should be taut and lean, it is. The Karousel also reveals a great deal more detail across the frequency range, while at the same time integrating or organizing it more intelligibly. And as many others have noted, the reduction in background 'noise,' for lack of a better term, is striking. Voices are particularly well served. And this before the Karousel runs in.
The Karousel does the above while adding to what I think is the LP12's greatest strength - connecting the listener to the music. Put another way, the Karousel, I think because it allows so much more information to be retrieved, is even more involving - it seems to improve that sense of balance and inner drive that (for me) makes an LP12 so 'musical.' Or, if you prefer, it maintains the 'soul' of an LP12.
I also had the chance to hear an LP12 with Karousel and one with a relatively new Cirkus - same PS, arm, cartridge, etc. You can hear the difference instantly - we played Aerial Boundaries by Michael Hedges, and you could tell after the first two notes. They were better defined, more forceful, more together - and the Karousel revealed far more ambience. It also showed that while the VM95E on my table sounds better than a $69 cartridge has any right to, the table needs/deserves a better cartridge.
Replacing the new-style baseboard with the Trampolin2 isn't nearly as dramatic, but is worth doing. It improved focus and precision somewhat - enough to hear, but nothing like the Karousel. Worth the money to me.
I was also reminded of the value of servicing by someone who knows - REALLY knows - what they are doing. Even back when I worked for him, Rick had people from across the world sending him LP12s for servicing and upgrading. And if I understood why even then, my latest LP12 is a powerful and timely reminder.
My LP12 now sounds much more . . . powerful, clear, and musical than before. And if the money involved was almost as much as I paid for the deck, arm, and original cartridge, it was worth every penny.