Thoughts on the Linn LP12 turntable

My father in law had an LP12, and an older Thorens. I got to use them between 1976 and 1985. He has classical LPs stashed away in every spare space in a large house, and quite a lot of reel-to-reel tapes, but despite all that he was quick to move to CD when it came out. I learned to avoid too much fancy suspension, which is why I now have two SME 10s. But he did introduce me to Quad, which stuck, and B&W active speakers, which did not.

@dogberry 

I learned to avoid too much fancy suspension

When it comes to the main issue with the LP12, you've hit the nail on the head!

Why oh why did they chose to suspend the subchassis on a flimsy piece of polished aluminium?

To make matters even worse, a piece of aluminium only supported on 3 of its 4 sides!

Then to seal the deal, why not attach an MDF armboard to the subchassis with three meagre screws?

[Yes, I know the Keel fixes this, but at what cost? A mere £3000 if you're asking. Meanwhile it does nothing to address the 3 sided support issues].

Finally, for the cherry on top, why don't we use the tonearm cable to keep the notoriously wibbly wobbly subchassis aligned and free from drifting?

Genius.

Is not the word.

You can blame Linn or, if you like, Ariston. Although to be fair, the Ariston RD 11 Superior does away with the separate armboard of the standard RD11 and appears to show a closer resemblance to the AR turntable setup.

Either way, the LP12 illustrates a shockingly bad way to design a turntable suspension and as a consequence the LP12 gives suspended decks a very bad name indeed.

There are obviously far better suspended designs out there, the Alaphason Sonata to just name one.

https://loud-clear.co.uk/glasgow/shop/keel-lp12-subchassis/

@no_regrets As can be seen in this thread, member mijostyn has some very absolute thoughts about the Linn LP12. The ONLY thing that I think we can take away from all of his posts that are in fact 'Absolute' is the fact that he has a) never heard a current LP12, even from a decade ago, never mind current.2) Is besotted with his SOTA, which while not a bad table, has nowhere near the resolving power of a current LP12 and 3) has ABSOLUTELY no problem putting his uniformed 2 cents worth into another Linn thread...IMO...:0)

ah…yes…TT Wars, 2022 edition…

Fact is, i have heard many magical immersive system / room combinations over 40 years of doing this to know there are at least 20 superb tables out there….including both Linn and SOTA.

Both have been significantly improved over the years. How wonderful it is for us music lovers that we have both ( and more ) to choose from.

I don’t typically learn much sorting thru ownership bias…

Jim

Lot of interesting and valid comments in this thread.

As the owner of a circa 1985 LP12 (Akito arm, dynavector DV-20x2 cart) as well as a 2013 40th Anniversary Klimax, I’d highlight a few points.

Choosing a high end TT (and all other gear) tends to be a personal decision, frequently biased by many years of experience.  While presumably sonic performance rates near the top of the determining factors, in many cases it isn’t.  A whole host of other considerations apply and for good reason.  For many aesthetics weight heavily on choice, and the aesthetics run a wide range from minimal, to very large and heavy, conservative to wildly complex.  Material choices run a similar span from wood to space-age exotic metals and composites. User friendliness is another factor.  Some have relatively straight forward operation while others require expert tutorial.  And for nearly everyone, price has some bearing including for those who want to spend more!  Of course, there’s the whole other matter of what it’s connected to and all of the factors that went into the other component’s selection, many of which may bias the TT choice.

In this context, the LP12 is actually quite unusual having been in continuous production for 50 years.  As others have noted, the early and current versions share essentially a name, as all of the main components have gone thru many changes and upgrades including the plinth.  So it’s really invalid to compare LP12s from differing decades, never mind several decades.  And for those who haven’t heard a relatively current and we’ll set up Klimax, your opinion while perhaps well intended is uninformed.  The gap in performance on my two is simply night and day, and the early one is pretty good (until you hear the newer one).

For me, the appeal is that with the exception of very few high end TTs, the LP12 is a known entity.  This means it’s operation is well understood, it’s easily serviceable, no shortage of set-up expertise, and despite what some have said, I set up my Klimax in one house, drove it to another 100 miles away and hooked it up and it’s played perfectly for 2 years (and counting).

Also important for me is that it’s not a physical commitment.  Its relative modest size and weight make it “agreeable” in the room, as does its conservative/classic styling.  On this point to each his own, but like it or not the LP12 is a TT icon.

As for performance, it makes me tap my foot which is ultimately what these things are meant to do.  I remain stunned how much information it’s capable of extracting off the vinyl, and while by nature no component can be everyone’s favorite, the LP12 with its long history, upgradability, serviceability, reliability, sonic performance, build quality, and yes, in such cases where resale is not unimportant, that too.  It’s a short list of high end TTs that have all of these attributes and brand awareness that makes ownership both accessible and to a large extent, recoverable (relatively speaking).

So yes, I am planning to get a current Klimax as the latest Ekstatik cart is yet another material improvement.