Does anyone manufacture an alternative Linn Sondek belt pulley ?
If anyone manufactures a Linn GROOVED pulley for a standard 2 or 3 mm diameter ROUND belt, it would be perfect. It would be so much more capable of dealing with slight imperfections and age and mechanics of older TTs, which I am prepared to live with.
Anyone know any third parties doing this ?
Thanks
A Linn pulley should sit slightly back, not a perfect 90 degrees to the spindle, IIRC. Just a degree or so, IIRC. If it is anything else, and cannot be adjusted to this ’perfection’ that is required, and contains any other unwanted angles or mis-positions...then the plinth or motor mounting might need some fixin’.... It also needs to be adjusted under load and under load mass, IIRC. Platter on top, upside down, so you can see the pulley and adjust from the bottom while the TT is on a proper stand that gives one access...with a used cheap record siting on top, with the mat, etc. All while everything is level, and so on. |
I owned a Linn for years and never experienced this issue. Clean the pulley and the edge of the platter with isopropol alcohol and wash the belt with some dishwashing liquid and sprinkle a small amount of talcum on the belt, wiping off the excess with a paper towel. As I recall, the angle of the motor/pulley is used to adjust the speed, so I don't see how you really have a choice of how to angle the motor, other than adjusting for the correct speed. |
Cakyol, I’ve set up countless LP12s as a Linn dealer over the last 30 years. I suspect the problem is you’re trying to get the pulley to be perfectly vertical on its axis, which is NOT correct! The pulley and it’s shaft ( unless you have a Radikal PS and motor) is designed to be at a slightly tilted angle, tilting out away from the center of the spindle or center of the table. This is quite different from most other brands and I’ll wager that’s where your problem is. They do this tilt so you can use the two silver screws that stick up to gently tilt the motor a bit more or less which causes the belt to move up and down on the pulley. Because the pulley is “fatter” in its middle the speed of the table will increase when the belt is riding on the fat part of the pulley. Thus it will decrease the speed as the belt moves up or down off the thicker part of the pulley. If you don’t have the two adjustment screws, you need to get them or the motor will vibrate or wobble a bit. Unlike other suggestions so far, do NOT use a talc or conditioner on a Linn belt!!! If your belt is more than 6 or so years old, just buy a new one! If you have no way to show the speed of the platter or are unsure about what you’re doing, then take your table to a knowledgeable Linn dealer or at least to someone who has worked on LP12s before. Now if you have a Radikal motor and power supply, it’s motor does NOT tilt and it self adjusts its own speed, so no adjustment is necessary. One more thing to add: normally the belt does ride near or on the fat part or center of the pulley. |
There were a lot of people who did it back when I had mine in 2005. The Russ Andrews setup manual recommended it, but like all things LP12, there were a lot of differing opinions. https://www.russandrews.com/images/pdf/LP12booklet2a.pdf |
Linn says don't do it, and have never recommended to put talc on a belt. Since they designed the table, I trust them to know their product better than anyone. If you're having some kind of slippage, either buy a new belt or take your table to an authorized Linn dealer for diagnosis of the problem. There is clearly something amiss with your table, whether it's the belt, the pulley, the motor or power supply is impossible to say without an in person inspection. If you're in the Seattle area, bring it to me and I'll fix the problem! If not, find a Linn dealer who knows the LP12 well. Not all dealers do. |
Linn advocates are among the most loyal I have ever "seen" in the audio world. If an individual owner has a problem with set-up, it is almost always the fault of the owner, and if only he or she would go to a dealer or some other Linn expert for expert set-up, or purchase this or that expensive option, all would be well. It's crossed my mind more than once that a major turntable icon, which the LP12 is, ought to be more bullet proof. This is not meant as a criticism of its performance, as I have only heard LP12-based systems at audio shows, where the performance was just fine. |
| Post removed |
| Post removed |
Linn derives more income from upgrades to old Linn's than they do selling actual turntables. That should tell you everything. How many times the bearing has been redesigned ? How many times the subclasses has been redesigned ? How many time have they redesigned the power supply ? You could have spent $40k on a fully fruited Linn only a few years ago and its still out of date. Its a con job. By contrast you could buy a SOTA of the same vintage as a Linn, and update it to latest specs for a fraction of the price of upgrading a Linn.
|
How many times the bearing has been redesigned ? How many times the subclasses has been redesigned ? How many time have they redesigned the power supply ? To answer these 3 - fewer times than most other companies have introduced new models. No upgrades are forced. If a new model were introduced every 8 years would that be a con job? You could have spent $40k on a fully fruited Linn only a few years ago and its still out of date. A maxed out LP12, a few years ago, wasn't $40,000; and it wasn't $30,000 either. It was in the $20's You don't like the LP12- that's fine, but plenty folks like it and appreciate that their older tables are not made obsolete every few years. |
@zavato +1 |
Oh come on - Here are some examples - Subchassis strengthened in 74 with spot welded bar revised again in late 70's 84 changed to glued subclasses rather than welded due to warping and the fact you can't weld junk metal and keep it straight then we went to the keel ( I'll miss some of the subtle changes in between ) Motor 89 - they actually put a stainless ball in the thrust pad 2 years later they had to add a plastic cap ( with bodgy glue ) to fix the noise they tried to fix 2 years earlier. now they've gone to DC motor with Radical
Plinth has been changed multiple times - addition of corner buttresses, glue, thicker material Suspension springs changed in 81, again in 86, again in 88 .... Power supply pcb changes in the 70's Valhalla power supply yin 82 2 years later mods to Valhalla power supply then we get the Lingo of course there were 4 versions of the Lingo before they got that "right"' Lingo 1, Lingo 2, Lingo 3, Lingo 4 then the Radical power supply and its "revisions".... Main bearing updated in 74 - new liner material updated again in 87 - new liner again, new thrustpad 87 magic oil ( they suddenly discovered high quality oil ) 93 cirkus, then another subhassis upgrade with the cirkus and on and on...
You could write a 300 page book on Linn upgrades and fixes, and still not cover them all. Today it is a nice sounding TT but it is not reference grade. It is a homage to midcentury design - but sadly they now even omit the horizontal grooves in the wooden plinth that gave it that iconic look. On pricing - I sat down with the Linn importer about 10 years ago - they had just completed a full Linn LP12 upgrade for a customer - the bill was $50k. Today you can buy a Klimax new for $36k - go figure. Whats next for Linn - a pack of Linn spec'd Viagara for the old faithful ?
|
Corvettes don't handle cornering, they are built for drag strips. Porsches - I remember when you couldn't get insurance for a Porsche unless you had completed a Porsche drivers course - the handling was so bad. Like the Linn its taken 40 years to get good handling. And of course Porsche "hobbles" the motors in the lesser models like the Cayman so you can't put the 911 in the shade. |
If you are needing an idler pulley and you have the old one, whether a turntable or tape machine, you can get it rebuilt by Russell Industries for a reasonable price. For many years it was only $35.00; I got a capstan pinch roller rebuilt there for my Ampex 350 transport. That part can be well over $150.00 on ebay. The new roller worked perfectly. I've been using this service for decades. |