Linn Forums

Hello - Just found this forum and registered today.

I thought for starters I should ask for advice. What to do with my 1980's era Linn Sondek LP12 with a walnut plinth that is currently in storage in my daughter's closet in its original box.

Due to having a family not really being able to fund the hobby of high end audio, I decided to just store the turntable. I haven't had it out of the box in 10 years. I do have a nice collection of some 850 nice quality albums still in my possession that are all still in very good condition and stored properly.

My electronics are dated (ADS L780 speakers that have been knocked around some, and NAD 2200 power amp and NAD pre-amp).

There used to be a dealer in Cincinnati Ohio some 50 miles from here. When I check the dealer locator the nearest one to me is in Cleveland Ohio or Ann Arbor Michigan, both over 200 miles away. Not very convenient.

I miss enjoying some of my old jazz fusion and ECM recordings on vinyl.

So please do this new contributor a favor and dispense some advise. Should I resurrect the LP12, should I sell it and get something that will perform as well for less money, or should I save my money and do some upgrades on the LP12. Would it be worth my time to go up to Cleveland and take my turntable there for servicing? And what should I do with my old speakers and electronics?

Thanks so much for any replies. And have a great week.

Hi masi61 and welcome to the forum!

I would take the LP12 in for service (it will need new oil, a new belt, and a new cartridge, best an Adikt; you could also get a Trampolin 2 which is a good and cheap upgrade). Then have it properly installed at your place by your dealer. This should do nicely for the beginning. You won't find anything better for the money. Don't sell it (unless you get a new one)!!!

Later on, you can consider further upgrades, in particular Lingo (which power supply do you have now?) and Keel.

All the best,

sondek

the LP12 may need a service after it's time in storage - belt, etc

but hook up your other gear - if it all sounds good to you, why change it?

If you feel the need - go and demo some new gear (vague I know, but trust your instincts)

The LP12 is pretty much as good as it gets for most of us mortal audiophiles so stick with it.

Enjoy your records - 850 is a nice size collection and warrants a decent deck, which you already have.

ENJOY

The best value for money is in my opinion the Cirkus-upgrade. If you have a good dealer around (200 miles? What is that? My dealer is located on the other side of the North-sea) he should be able to upgrade and set up your player to your satisfaction.
Next step would be a better power supply unit.
A decent cartridge may be the Audio Technica OC9. Very cheap in US I have seen on the internet.

I'm sorry, all this terminology is confusing me.
Just what is a Cirkus upgrade. How much does it cost in US dollars? I must admit when I start to do the math of a new Linn Sondek LP12 with all the upgrades, I practically go into respiratory failure.

I sent an email to Overture Audio in Ann Arbor Michigan about bringing my turntable up for servicing. Looks like I might need to get some money together.

You should also consider trading in your old LP12 (except the Ittok), getting a new Majik LP12 (it has the Circus installed and you would get a new cartridge) and replacing the Project arm with your Ittok. This might cost you not much more than servicing your old turntable (and getting the Circus and an Adikt) and you would get an overall better unit (it also has a better power supply).

Sounds like you want to keep costs to a minimum, but I agree with the above advice to get the deck serviced first, especially after 10 years in storage. Not knowing your budget, it's hard to advise further, especially as there may be aditional costs that come as a result of the service. Ittok's are pretty good though, so hopefully the arm bearings are still OK. Also, the K9 might have some life left in it, but the dealer can examine the level of wear for you.

In my opinion you won't find another deck as musical as the LP12, even one from the 80s. No doubt you can find something that has a more up to date sound. Yours will be quite warm and diffuse sounding by comparison, so it depends what is the more important to you. Personally, I always liked the old warm LP12 sound even though I have upgraded away from it.

If it were me, I'd get the deck into a good dealer (I PM'd you on this by the way) and take it from there. You might find you need a new motor unit or anything. A good service alone will make a big difference and can make or break the deck's musicality/tunefulness.

Lastly, a poor support can make a big difference too, especially when you haven't got the trampolin base which gives you more flexibility as to where you locate the deck. Light and rigid is recommended so if you're on a limited budget then the old Ikea coffee table is still a safe bet at around 15 bucks I guess. You can do better of course, but it will cost a lot more money.

This needn't be an expensive process and you'll be loving those old jazz LPs once again!

P.S. The 'Cirkus' upgrade is a new main bearing, inner platter, spings and grommets upgrade. Gives a tighter more tuneful sound and would be a priority over an arm or cartridge upgrade (unless either is faulty or worn).

Thanks Charlie, for your thoughtful response. Not to worry about support since I have the original "sound organisation" wall mount tubular steel rack with the lightweight rigid black particle board platform. Definitely a necessity with springy floors. I had that turntable mounted on the wall in either the bedroom or the living room in 2 rentals when I was single and 2 more rentals when I get married and our first starter house that we purchased back in 1990. I'm now in my second purchased house since 1999 and as I said, I just made an executive decision to leave the turntable in the box this time until my daughter grew up some. She is 10 now and growing out of some of her hyperactivity. I did trial the turntable in the past just on a coffee table and the floor bouncing damaged the cantilever arm on the stylus. This may have been on the "Basik" cartridge that it originally came with.

Interesting that you would describe the vintage Linn Lp12 sound as warm and diffuse. This was pretty much my experience with the sound. The ADS speakers which had great dispersion with vague soundstage and the ADS amp which was loud but probably contributed to muddy base made longer listening sessions somewhat fatiguing. To be honest with you, I most enjoyed listening to albums on my entry level Grado headphones through the NAD preamp. This gave me a much better idea of the detail and quality in certain recordings over others.

That Ittok arm was a pricey upgrade even back in 1986, I believe I paid $795 + tax just for the arm. My original dealer in Dayton messed some things up, saying he understood the set up process. Well, he didn't. Back in the 1990's there was a high end audio dealer in Cincinnati Ohio called Audible Elegance who did some low cost tweaking of the thing for me. He listed like 18 different little tweaks such as separating the power cord leads, removing oxidation from RCA plugs and tensioning suspension springs. Those things did make a difference at the time. I did replace the belt at that time as well.

I appreciate the degree of support I got here in just a 24 hour period. This is very inspirational to me and I appreciate it.

One last question, does anyone remember some little Linn bookshelf speakers called "Kan"? I had a demo on a set of these years ago listening to some Penguin Cafe' Orchestra and I was awed by the demo. I ended up buying the turntable but not the speakers. Are these speakers still around?

I bought Kan IIs along with my walnut plinth LP12/Akito1/K9 in the late 80s, so my deck was very similar to yours although it had a lower spec arm. Kan's were superb for their day and hold their value very well. I got £300 ($500 US) for mine a couple of years ago, although they were in excellent condition.

However, Linn have made much better speakers since then. Personally, I'd recommend either Katan's or the new Majik 109s which will be much more tuneful and sound better than Kan's. Katan's are quite old now and must be nearing end of life what with the release of the 109. You should be able to pick up a 2nd hand pair for a good price.

In my opinion though, Unless your speakers are faulty or their sound is annoying you so much that they are distracting you from your music then its always best to invest in the source first. In which as the Cirkus upgrade as suggested by HBerg and others would be ideal (your dealer may recommend this anyway if there is any issue with the existing main bearing/springs etc).

Changing speakers will effect the sound more than a Cirkus upgrade, but it's not going to make the music as involving or easy to understand as having a better turntable.

Cirkus kit is a new subchassis, bearing, innerplatter, springs, grommets, oil, armboard and two belts. Price in Norway is NOK 5200,-, equivalent to appr. USD 900,-. The norwegian price is including 25% VAT so I guess the kit is cheaper in US.
The price includes installation of the kit.

Hallgrim