LP12 Help required - is this a good buy / price?

[pandasharka]

Evening forum

I did a silly thing and bought this last night before asking questions - can anyone advise on whether its overprice / right price and what the likely issues might be?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...K:MEWNX:IT

I've emailed the seller who at the time was in the process of amending the listing as he thought it was walnut base not afro. The arm is made in Japan. The serial number is incorrect and dates around 82 -84 rather than mid-late 80s as described.

I've also asked him for service history / arm bearing condition, but no response as yet.

Any QUICK input here would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Mark

[honeymonster]

I'd assume that the mid to late 80's bit of the ad is wrong and the s/n is right! This means the deck is from 83 or 84 so it won't have the Cirkus bearing unless retrofitted, The plinth will not be corner braced either. The Akito is a Mk1 if it comes from Japan, first released in '89. Possibly the deck has been back for service when the arm was fitted? The Valhalla PS might need a bit of TLC. If it has been looked after and is in good condition, £500 seems okay. I personally would not buy a deck off ebay unless I saw it before I bid, there is too much that could be wrong. I hope you are lucky.

[What You See and Hear]

(2009-12-15 20:29)pandasharka Wrote:  Evening forum

I did a silly thing and bought this last night before asking questions - can anyone advise on whether its overprice / right price and what the likely issues might be?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...K:MEWNX:IT

I've emailed the seller who at the time was in the process of amending the listing as he thought it was walnut base not afro. The arm is made in Japan. The serial number is incorrect and dates around 82 -84 rather than mid-late 80s as described.

I've also asked him for service history / arm bearing condition, but no response as yet.

Any QUICK input here would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Mark

Asking for a service history and bearing condition is unrealistic.You have bid and made a decision to buy on EBay .
If you are paying for a guaranteed turntable with history and provenance then you buy from a dealer and get a properly fettled turntable with the skills and experience and true value for money this brings.You will pay a realistic price.It will not be £500.00 but quite a bit more.

What you have bought as the other poster has already said, is what you always buy from private EBay sellers.A couple of nice photos and description.It's all you can tell from an auction until you hopefully take your "new" deck to a good dealer to make it work as it should.(The sellers date of manufacture is not far out considering the LP12 will have it's 40th year of production in 2012!).

Your LP12 specialist might give you very good news but he might not.If it is bad news remember a Sondek today will cost from £2200.00 to £15,000,00.
If you have to spend a grand on it, because it is worn or damaged or because you want to get it nearer to a new one it could still be good value.

An LP12 can change your life for the better but it is high precision instrument so it must not be short changed otherwise it won't.

Your'e a big boy now,and its unfair on the seller to bid on anything on EBay and then have second thoughts and expect others to justify your purchase.

See it through.It will be worth it.

Regards.

[eye-fi]

Looking on the more positive side of things the photo of the Sondek shows a well looked after deck throughout all these years as it does not show any visible signs of dents/plinth wear & the Lid looks & describes it as good. It clearly has been for some kind of service in it's life as it has an Akito fitted. So overall it has by the looks of things had some TLC & likely therefore to be okay.

Even if you had to spend £150 for a dealer service & perhaps a cheap new cartridge (to get you going) it would still perform much better than any NEW £650 deck. If you like what you hear, overtime you could upgrade it, either with s/h or new parts from a dealer (such as arm/power supply) or choose WISELY from the widely available s/h ads on forums or Ebay.

[pandasharka]

Thanks for the replies so far

I figured that you just don't find a complete LP12 with an Akito / cartridge for less than £500 on eBay so went for it.

OK step forward, assuming I've got it now - how much would i be looking at for my local Linn dealer to give it the once over / service? Would be good to hear it as presently I don't have the means to play it as no LP12 amp capability (Classik / LK140)

[Warren]

The ebay posting has good quality pictures so you can see the deck is in at least reasonably good physical condition externally. As mentioned above its internal mechanical state is a different matter.

The seller has a feedback of over 200 (rather than 1 or 0) and also very good detailed feedback, which is a good sign.

The serial number of 0517448 doesn't place the deck from the 80s. Either it is a much newer deck or maybe it is a typo and should be 051748. My deck is from 1995 and is 92,000.

The LP12 in the photo appears to have 2 lights on the power button. From my experience this could only imply a Lingo power supply which is in a separate metal box to the turntable, whereas an internal Valhalla psu has a single light on the button. There is no mention of power supply in the advert.

Interestingly the seller also lives less than 3 miles from Linn's factory.

[honeymonster]

A service could cost between £120 and a couple of hundred [possibly more] depending on whether the deck needs rebuilding or not. I wouldn't count on the K9 being that servicable. A new Adikt at around £250 would be the ideal match for the deck. The Valhalla might need a few bits replacing too, not sure how much that would cost.

[Warren]

There are two types of service.

A reset - reset the suspension and includes: check/change grommits, the oil, also check cartridge and may include check arm bearing. These are cheaper and may be only £80.

A rebuild - take the deck apart, rebuild it completely.

It is early days yet, however there are also a few cheap things to do that are quite substantial, especially for the cost. Linn started using a newer AC motor around 2001. The plinth around the motor was also strengthened (corner brace, extra bolt).

[eye-fi]

(2009-12-15 22:29)Warren Wrote:  2,000.

The LP12 in the photo appears to have 2 lights on the power button. From my experience this could only imply a Lingo power supply which is in a separate metal box to the turntable, whereas an internal Valhalla psu has a single light on the button. There is no mention of power supply in the advert.

Doesn't the Hercules have 2 lights?

[Village Idiot]

We are somewhat in the same boat, though I asked several questions of my seller first.

I just bought this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...2761.l1259

I think you maybe did better than me. If I'd have seen yours I think I'd have bought it. Effectively you got an Akito and a K9 for £100, I won't get near that, the last Akito I saw went for £215!

Plus yours is arguably in better nick???

Then again, mine's a shade newer, has a braced plinth and you pay a bit of a premium for black ash. Plus it definitely has the Valhalla.

It's like Colin said. I've gone into it with my eyes open. I ended up doing it this way because I couldn't afford to do it the better way. If I'm unlucky I'll shell out money to put it right, but at least this way I can put the money into it as I get it.

Whatever happens, you have got a nice plinth, top plate, outer platter (probably) and lid. You are probably only a bearing, a handful of minor parts and a setup away from a good deck, at worst.

The arm's another story, but as already stated the deck does look well cared for, lets hope that extends to the arm and cart.

Best,

Paul