Linn Bedrok LP12 Plinth Upgrade

All prices on the Linn website reflect the new, post tariff pricing.  Those are retails to you.  Only added costs would be US sales tax and shipping if applicable. I am a Linn dealer.  If you see deviations it is because we haven’t had a chance to update our sites yet.  Linn’s site is accurate.  

In the US, the term "VAT" as it is used in the UK and in many other countries, has never been used, and I don’t see it being applied now that the orange one has declared the new much higher tariffs.  The added cost is kept under the table where the consumer never sees it as such.  Instead, the retail price just goes up enough to compensate the importer/distributor for the cost of the tariff. A big difference is that if I shop in the UK, and if I produce my passport or other proof of US citizenship, then I would not have to pay the VAT.  (At least that is the way it works in Tokyo; Japan also has a VAT. That charge is deducted when I produce my passport.) The same does not apply here for a tariff.  Anyone purchasing goods in the US, regardless of citizenship, would be per se paying any added cost related to a tariff. The VAT is a tax levied only at the time of purchase.  The tariff is a tax paid at the point of importation into the market where the item will be sold.

A Resin Impregnated Densified Wood Board that is the dimension the Linn Blank  is to be produced at will cost approx' £300 if it is one of multiple cuts from a whole from a whole Board.

The Board will then be CNC Routed and aesthetically finished, I will be surprised if both additional treatments surpass £300.

The rest of the math will be for others, as I don't know the ins and outs of Linn's Overhead and Profit, but it does seen in the UK, there is £7000+ yet to be added. 

@pindac 

That’s great news. I look forward to being able to buy a Bedrok clone for a small fraction of Linn’s price.

There are thousands of audio devices now produced from a Resin Impregnated Densified Wood Board, that are designs undertaken in the DIY community for the best part of 20 years. I believe the Commercial offerings using this material type came later.

There is nothing to stop an individual to buy a Board at a Dimension that suits their needs, the dimension for the Board does not have to be the same as that that selected by another.

If a rebating is to be put in place to allow for other parts to be inserted into the rebate, this will be best produced to the tolerance that best allows for the best fitting interface.

For certain TT's although not yet proven, it does seem the remaining material left when the rebate is cut out can be further machined to produce a Part that is usually produced in Aluminium and when in use, has the purpose to function as a Sub Chassis, Parts that are needed for the TT to function such as the Tonearm and Platter Bearing Housing can be attached to such a Sub Platter design.

When it comes to Damping / Dissipation, the intrinsic properties of a Resin Impregnated Densified Wood is much improved over any metal type, the densified wood is as stable a material as a metal is in typical ambient conditions.

Another method for Producing a Plinth that acts like a Peripheral Structure is to produce it from a material that has the required form milled out then cut to the required dimension and Corner Jointed to make a Periphery Structure. A Structure produced like this from a Resin Impregnated Densified Wood will not yield and of the most attractive properties if being compared to a rebated board.

It is a certainty a Board with a improved basic structure to a Board recently used to produce a Plinth can be purchased.

The improved board will need to be produced with a minimum of 50 Tiers of Veneers per Inch Thickness. It is common today to see 0.7mm Veneers compressed to 0.35mm.

The Veneers will need to be laid as a Cross Grain Orientation an the minimum. 

 A Board cut to the dimension to produce a Plinth, as stated will be approx' £300

The machining cost @ £300 is a guestimate, using info known from others who have used a CNC Service where a program was produced for the CNC. It is very close to being an accurate quote as a one off production.

The cost to produce the Sub Chassis from the rebated board cut out is harder to nail down, but another £300 does not sound too excessive as a one of production. 

Using the method to Mill a profile and produce the Periphery with corner Joints will be much less wasteful of materials and may incur an additional cost for the producing the Corner Joints and the bonding together the parts to form the structure.

When the DIY Clone of a Plinth Type does become seen as a sale item, the above is a very accurate guide to show how the costings for materials and forming the Plinth will look.

The costings may also look quite attractive and be encouragement to another, where they are prompted to make an investigation into the viability of such a venture. For individuals with a experience in producing a structure, such a task will be seen for it being a simple wood working task with a particular dimension for the rebate needing to be maintained, the overall dimension is for the end user to decide on. Modern technology makes this type of Task very easy to achieve.

A friend with their own CNC produces Densified Wood Plinths where tolerances for the rebates are produced to 0.05mm if requested. Such a tolerance is sought for  the S to P dimension being very accurately produced when a particular Tonearm is only to be used.

I have purchased Densified Wood in a range of thicknesses and to date have Two Plinths produced from this material in a 25mm thickness to the above machining tolerances. I know of near 50 Plinths produced from the Densified Wood material, that are produced between Two different friends that are now in many Countries across the Globe.