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In Reply to: Acknowledging Excellence posted by ggraff on September 26, 2001 at 06:39:18:
Prior to the Linn LP-12, turntables were considered to have no real sound save for the effects of wow and flutter and rumble. Mr. Tiefenbrun was the first to realize (and exploit) the fact that turntables did sound different in ways that weren't reflected in a couple of measured specs. Essentialy there was no such thing as a high end turntable before the LP-12. The machining of the Linn's bearing and platter established a new standard for such things, too.
Follow Ups:
I don't have an LP-12, yet! But I do have a Linn Axis, which some people consider to be the next best thing.It' so sad that so many people don't get Linn in general (you know who you are, no flames please, just stating fact!!!). I for one know there are better 'tables out there, but at what cost? Certainly much higher than the LP-12 (even in fully updated Lingo format, which BTW is about $11kCDN in my area, a little above my range!), but very few at the Linn's price or under 'get the tunes right', as Ivor says, and I have heard and beleive! That is the first and most important thing to me, as a time keeper (bass guitarist, who has worked with countless drummers, pro and amatuer).
Peace at the A!
Dman
DMan, firstly, the Axis isn't even close. Period. Nice turntable, but no contender, really. Not to say I wouldn't like one as a second, urm, third table, but the LP12 is miles ahead.That said, Linn's recent price increases have pushed it into the price bracket of many more superior tables, including the likes of the Clearaudio EVolution, which I recently chose over the Linn, Rega P9, Xerxes. Of course, it's always down to personal preference at this level, but my situation was interesting.
My LP12 had been ruined when a wall shelf had come away from the wall, and my insurance company paid up the £3800 ($5500?) new value of the TT. It was an LP12/Lingo/Cirkus/Naim Aro/Asaka - a great table, no question. HOwever, I'd bought it all secondhand over the years, bits here and bits there. I'd paid perhaps £1750 all in, probably quite a bit less, to build this table. AT that price, it is clearly a bargain. However, I had never looked at more expensive tables originally, due to my budget not stretching that far. Thus, I didn't try things like Michell Orbes, Clearaudio, etc.
With a budget of £3800, I had fully intended to replace my LP12 with a new one, except with a Naim Armageddon PSU instead of a new Lingo, diverting the difference in funds toward a better MC cart - an Arkiv. However, I found that at that price, there are so many turntables worthy of audition, and I found that, whilst my loyalty to the LP12 was and is very high, my ears clearly told me that it can be bettered.
The Rega P9, whilst not as musical in my opinion, beats the LP12 for the all-important dynamics and pace. The LP12 is by no means the lesser table for it - I prefer the LP12 'balance' over the P9, but I had to try it for myself. I actually quite fancied the simplicity of the P9, but found it not to my tastes in the end. The Xerxes, another great deck - but again, something just didn't do it for me. I was prejudiced against the CLearaudio deck at first - I felt that its aesthetics and tangential tonearm were quirky and I expected it to sound 'blah' in a kind of Gyrodec way (no offense to Gyro owners, but it's never been my fave deck, although I did demo it to reassess my previous experiences with it, to no avail). However, I found it systematically beat the LP12 in all of the key areas, PRaT, and dug out a high degree of additional detail that the LP12 just couldn't get. Most importantly, it had the PRaT *AND* Transparency, a thing that the LP12 never did.
The moral is: don't be blinkered, as I was. I would have still been delighted with my LP12, enjoying the music, and there's nothing wrong with that. However, I now see that there ARE better tables for less than the current new cost of a fully-loaded LP12 - my CLearaudio rig, including arm and SIgma Gold MC, came to less than £2800, a saving of £1000 which I put toward new Preamp and a CDR machine.
TC '..'
Finding the sound that YOU like and sticking with it!I LOVE my Axis, but will probably get better 'tunes' with an LP-12 Basik (currently fishing one as I type this for a great used price), with my Akito II arm on it, instead. I do agree there are better TTs out there, and I forgot to take the price hikes into consideration with new Linn stuff.
I still have a 'love on' for the LP-12. To me it just sounds 'right' compared to most other tables. I have done my best to ignore the hype, and my Linn dealer buddy knows this. But every time I enter his shop (cleaning records on the Keith Monks, etc...), he usually shows me something 'new' on the LP-12 that makes sense audio-wise, but usually, NOT cost-wise- and that is too bad, because I am a cheap bastard!!!! (I am of Scottish decent as well!).
The sound I love is Dalhquist speakers being driven by my HIGHLY modified Cyrus II amp (was an integrated in a past life!). I'd kil to get another one to bi-amp as well. My system is by no means a 'resolution killer', but it does what I like best- PRAT!
Cheers, and enjoy your TT! Everybody ROCK!!!!
Dman
In fact - Ivor was ridiculed for stating (and selling) that a turntable could make any difference in sound quality.Amazingly enough - many people today - still don't believe!
TBone
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