Spending some time with the Linn CD12

[Tuberoller]

I have heard this player in a few systems at shows over the past few years and have longed to get it in a system I am familiar with.The ideal conditions would be,of course,to have it in my own reference system for an audition,but all my negotiations failed and I am only able to listen to it in the system of my good friend Jeremy,owner of Decibel Audio.If he decides to buy the player then I'm sure he will allow me to borrow it, but until then I'm gonna enjoy the small gathering of friends( six of us total) he is having tonight and tomorrow to check out the Mighty CD12.I have always wanted to reserve judgement on this player for the right conditions.I know Jeremy's system well and this should be a blast.He had to loan his Accuphase SACD player in exchange for the Linn,which actually cost much less, so he is completely stoked.I would love to have compared both super-expensive players side-by-side but Jeremy explains that it was a player for player swap.He also borrowed a set of Stereovox interconnects.I have seen them before but was unaware they cost $6,500 until he told me last night.Holy Smokes!He has a set of Nordost Valhalla interconnects and there is another set of Valhalla connects at the shop in RCA connector configuration.I'm gonna borrow those over the weekend to use in my system and offer some impressions.I'm borrowing my Dad's Revox E-46 and his Synergistic Research cables again because it is our redbook reference and we want to have both players present.Needless to say I am more than a little excited and I'm sporting a huge bulge in my pants right now.Man,just think,had we been able to keep the Accuphase we would have had well over $65,000 worth of digital players and interconnects on hand.As it is, Jeremy's system consists of over $140,000 of gear,so I am not too disappointed.I'll keep you guys posted.

[Tuberoller]

Well,I have just experienced the audio version of viagra.Having the Linn CD12 and the Revox E46 in the same room was unreal.I had to endure five hours of the "wine and cheese" crowd and other yuppie indignities but it was well worth it.I thank Jeremy for inviting me,he seems to think I have a good ear and actually sought my input in the decision to buy the CD12.Little does he know that I'm just as giddy as he is.

Jeremy has a killer system,actually he has several killer systems,and only a system of this caliber could resolve the excellence of such great players as the Linn and Revox.His system consists of:

Source#1-VPI TNT HR Turntable with motor control and JMW 12.5 arm/Clearaudio Discovery Cartridge.

Source#2-Accuphase DP-85 SACD player/transport

Phonostage-Manley Steelhead/w NOS tubes

Preamp-Hovland HP-100 without Phonostage

Amps-VTL MB 600 monoblocks w/NOS tubes

Loudspeakers-Martin Logan Prodigy E2

Interconnects-Nordost Valhalla and Various Cardas and Synergistic research.

Power cords-Homebrew with VBT connects and plugs

Conditioner-PS Audio Power plant(I forgot to ask which model)

Jeremy has a nice sized house and two dedicated listening rooms.The room we used is about 22x27 and has various acoustic treatments and dedicated circuits for the gear,including a dedicated line for the amps in each room.He uses this sytem for most of his listening and is a huge opera and chamber music fan.

I got to Jeremy's house first so I got to pick the first music,which was some great Muddy Waters blues and the new Philip Bailey HDCD disc.Jeremy placed the CD12 on a seperate stand all alone so everybody could look on in awe.It is a beautiful player.I can't get over the super sanitary front panel.There are no buttons and all player functions are performed by pressing on the Cd drawer or using the fantastic remote.The Revox remote looks nicer and is more sturdy but in this class of high-end players all the remotes are first class.The CD12 has a kind of bead-blasted looking finish on the cabinet and the face looks to be a single chunk of blasted billet aluminum.This is great looking and I think it is one of the nicest looking players I have seen.It always looks killer at the audio shows but in Jeremys room it looks like a museum piece.It's that pretty.The Revox is pretty in it's own way and the loading mechanism is first rate.The Linn has a great transport but it is nowhere near as fast and precise as not having a drawer at all.The Revox has that top loading tray with the retracting doors and the hold down magnet.It has a balanced transport that is the fastest loading I have ever seen.Both player have glass display panels.The Revox has a super-sized blue display with variable fonts,brightness and display functions.The Linn seems to have a very pleasing looking display as well, with variable display functions only.Both players are heavy with the Revox weighing much more,possibly twice as much as the Linn.The Revox was not this heavy before my Dad had the power supply and upsampling upgades.It also has a large seperate power supply module that is made heavier by the fact that it is filled with sand(?).I forgot to look to see if the Linn had a seperate power supply,but I didn't casually observe one.Overall it is easy to tell just by looking at them that both these players cost huge bucks.

We never got around to swapping interconnects but both players were connected using balanced cables to the preamp.Only the Valhalla was used on both players.The Revox has true balanced outputs and the current literature from Revox boasts that it is the only player that does.I don't know what that really means in terms of CD players but on an amp or preamp a "true balanced" output is one that has the circuit configured and designed with the balanced outputs as the primary signal transmission jacks.The RCA jacks are just piggy-backed on.In these types of gear there are substantial losses in performance when using the RCA outputs.This is also the case when using the RCA jacks on the Revox.Jeremy says that the Linn seems to sound the same no matter which jacks are used.I was not able to verify this.

I must say right off the bat that the Linn was facing some tough competition in the Revox,the Accuphase and the VPI analog rig.We didn't have the Accuphase around but it's startling resolution and soundstage are not easily forgotten.It became apparent almost immediately that the Linn was no match for the VPI rig.That table/arm/cartidge/phonstage combo is simply one of the best I've heard.It is as dynamic and accurate as I think is possible in a hifi system.It fills the room with music from corner to corner and wall to wall.You just don't want to stop listening.The Linn was outclassed here.The CD12 has amazing bass and midrange.The soundstage is deep and instrument placement is precise.It does some neat things with upper midrange, female voices seem to take on an almost "supernatural" or "angelic" presence.I know that sounds strange but I was not the only one to notice this.It doesn't make them sound forward but seems to heighten the presentation of the female vocal.I find this hard to explain but if you can imagine the singer looking at you while she is singing then I think you can understand what I mean.I was a bit disappointed with the treble on the Linn.There seems to be great accuracy and good extension but there is a sense that the treble is focused or has become compressed somewhat, allowing you to easily determine that the sound is coming directly from the Transducer panels on the Martin Logans.The Accuphase never allowed this to happen.You are never able to place the sound directly from the speaker,it just floats in the air right to your ears.The Revox does treble very well but does not have the extension of the Linn.The Linn just gets beat up by the Revox in the midrange.When I first connected the Revox some of the yuppies were standing around chatting.When I played the first disc everybody stopped and sat down.The Revox has the most killer midrange in the business.Even the Accuphase is not as nice.Jeremy agrees that it is so near the analog rig he can't believe it.The Revox is also better in the lowest bass regions as well.The CD12 seems to have the low frequency extension but loses some composure at the bottom.I'm not really familiar with some of the music that was played(I'm not an opera fan)but the bass on some of those recordings is thunderous and the Linn was having some trouble.Jeremy says that the Accuphase does this best of the bunch,which does not suprise me.I really wish we could have had all the players present so I could compare the Accuphase as well.I won't go on too much longer,It was clear to me that the Linn was being beat-up on by the other sources here.After about two hours with the Linn everybody voted we just listen to some vinyl.

I think the Linn was perhaps the best player when it was introduced nearly four years ago.Digital technology has advanced so rapidly that a four year old player is just outdated now.Even one as great as the Linn.Since the introduction of the Linn the High Definition formats have come on and upsampling has made a big impression on a lot of listeners.The Linn has just been left behind and is in need of some updates.I wish I could have heard it when it was the best on the block back in 1999,maybe I would be more impressed now.Ultimately Jeremy decided against spending the cash for the Linn and is returning it today.I agree with that decision.He is still awaiting the arrival of his own Revox.