[immtbiker]

For those of you with the older Linn Sondek LP12, I have an upgrade question. I can't believe how good the TT sounds with just the original Valhalla p/s.
I am looking at the Lingo external P/S upgrade, which is supposed to make an incredible difference, or the Origin Live motor/power supply upgrade which is slightly cheaper. My unit is from '84 and has a SME Series III tonearm.
Does anyone have an opinion on which to get?
Also anyone know a reputable place to upgrade Linn's in the Greater NYC area?

 

[John Reeves]

Hi,

The SME tonearm is not particularly suited to the LP12. It's design philosophy is totally opposed to the Linn philosopphy i.e Damped in an oil bath as opposed to a tight bearing.

Your best upgrade is to go for a Linn arm. I had originaly had an SME from another deck, then I replaced it with an Itok and there was a huge difference. The power supply will apparently make an improvement, but the tone arm will make a much bigger difference.

There may well be other good close couple bearing arms available in the US, but the Linn arm was designed specifically to match the LP12.

The concept of the Naim/Linn system was to match the components so that as a whole they gave the best possible sound. Accordingly, I personaly would also go for a Linn cartridge.

It's difficult to explain, but the sound is better in terms of speed and I guess tempo. The Linn sound makes other decks somewhat lifeless by comparison, as if the music is being slowed, held back.

regards
John

 

[zimmer]

My friend in Chicago started out with a Basic power supply and a RB300 and jumped to a Naim power supply and Naim arm - sorry but I don't think I heard a $3500 improvement. I guess if I found a Lingo at a reasonable price I would be tempted. I'll second John on the Ittok - great arm - I liked it much better than my current Akito. Check the bearings though - I don't think replacements are available anymore. A friendly Linn dealer would be a natural suggestion as to who to contact - especially since they might have customers moving out of vinyl and dumping their 12s - it has been known to happen. The Origin supply has gotten some good press but I have never heard one. As you may have gathered from earlier posts, I am not about to personally do surgery on my current 12 -- it might not sound the best but it is mint and I would probably ding it up if I started messing with it. Funny - my previous 12 (with Ittok) looked like it had been through a war but sounded better.

 

[immtbiker]

The irony is...even with the SME tonarm, and the Valhalla power supply, this thing sounds damn good. I've got another TT setup from Germany that is the "cat's meow", and I've got to say, that my current Linn configuraion, gives it a run for the money...especially using a Emmeline XR-2 pre-amp w/ a Maestro/R-10 combo. I was just looking to make it a step better, and the tonearm/cartridge combo, is a lot more money than the power supply/motor upgrade. Maybe I should just let well enough alone, and enjoy the new toy for a while...but the Origin upgrade is less than a grand, and I was quoted $1600 for a Lingo uograde with tune-up included.

 

[buzzlulu]

I recently purchased a NEW LP12. When I put my system "back together" I originally bought a Rega P3 which I was unhappy with. My Naim CD killed it. Now my LP12 kills my Naim.
I auditioned a Valhalla supply vs. a Lingo2. The Lingo made a BIG difference. The music was substantially "cleaned" up and more coherent. I also bought a used Ittok (the only non new component) as my dealer said that this was significantly better than a new Linn arm of todays vintage. A $300 Linn Adikt cartridge completed the setup.
Now my new motto is "Vinyl Rules"

Gregg

 

[immtbiker]

Vinyl does give me a joy, that I don't get from other formats!