First jump into vinyl: LINN lp-12

[spacedeckman]

I really liked my LP12, and have 3 friends that would have nothing else. Two of them are down in basement setups, and the other has no kids. The kids on an upstairs floor are what talked me out of the LP12, otherwise I would still have it and be happy as a pig in slop.

If you noticed my post, I continually praised the LP12, and even called it "magic".

I love my VPI, and prefer it's presentation. But it isn't as lush, romantic, and warm sounding as my LP12 was. The VPI is more direct, less colored (color can be a good thing), with more drive. They are two completely different machines, with two distinctly different views into the music. Both are valid choices.

As I said earlier, you done good. Don't pick out comments and construe them as negatively impacting your choice. An LP12 is a great table, especially with the Ittok arm, which I still think is the best Linn arm. I wish I could have kept that arm, but couldn't have sold the table without it and gotten the money I needed for change. I left because of lack of success with a suspended table in my environment, not because the LP12 was a bad table.

Lighten up, go buy some good vinyl and sixer of good beer. Enjoy your weekend.

[Sealed]

I am too new to vinyl to trule get upset. I can only state what I have seen and heard. The K-18 cart I had was a bit colored, kind of like a bit rolled on top and lush in the middle. it was musical and pleasent to listen to.

My current ortofon kontrapunkt cart (along with the dealers masterful alignment and setup) has resulted in something that is very close to neutral.

I can describe it like this:

If neutral is 65 degrees and a clear day, this is 74 degrees. The K-18 was more like 82. And I am NOT getting any of that mid bass bloat that people accuse the Lp-12 of. That might have been true of a 70's model, but not 80's or 90's.

[hifitommy]

the Kb and always wondered if the a was close. sounds as if it is. the first of these i heard was the jubilee in my friends sota sapphire/mmt and was heartily impressed. the Kb came so close and was even preferable in some areas that my friend and i called it a bargain. he bought another for backup.

now there are the c and h (not associated with the sugar company). it will be interesting to hear the reports of their sound as well.

as time goes on, let us know how fussy the linn is as to setup and maintaining it. we have all heard that its fussy so let us know what your experience is.

[Sealed]

The Kontrapunkt A ran me $475 because the dealer cut me a break. The "B" goes for about $900.

The world of vinyl, (as I quickly ascertained) is much more inclusive of pitfalls than digital. There is only so much you can screw up with a cd player connection.

Some of the carts I looked at I could not use. A good example would be Grado. The carts may sound superb on other decks, but cannot be used with the light Ittok arm because the carts are really "springy."

The dealer went through a 90 minute setup, and showed me how lowering the arm emphasized bass, raising it...treble.

Once all of the adjustments were made, it is going to run that way for many months.

I cannot recommend the Ortofon cart for other arms, because I have no experiance with what the result will be. Not to mention that certain phono stages may cause certain carts to sound fat.

It's a lot of things to think about, but the results are worth it. I am glad I opted for a totally modifiable deck, vs a deck that can only accept another cart. I don't feel limited by choices, just budget. What I have now is extremely enjoyable.

[JoeE SP9]

I have the Telarc 1812 on Vinyl and CD. The vinyl sounds better. There is more there there. The LP did snap a diamond right of the cantilever on a Shure V-15 some years back. This was during one of the cannon shots. I have a dozen or so recordings on vinyl and CD. in every instance the vinyl sounds better. The 12" singles sound a lot better than the CD versions although this could be because of different mastering. Incorrect cartridge loading is the main reason cartridges sound different with different phono preamps. This does not mean that all phono preamps sound the same.

[risabet]

I have owned an LP-12 for nigh on 18 years and have not regretted it once. In that time I have had in my house or sold tables by Oracle, AR, VPI and SOTA. Each of those has much to offer the vinyl fanatic but in the end I have always kept the LP-12, it serves the music the best for my taste. That is the point! Every table will have strengths and weaknesses, some like the drive of the VPI's, the neutrality of the SOTA, the sweet treble of the Oracles. For me the "tune" is the key and none play it like a Linn.

The onle TT I have owned that would track the Telarc 1812 was an old HK table with a Shure v15. That album is a system wrecker for sure. I leave mine on the shelf where it belongs. It never gets near my TT anymore.

[RGA]

I am relatively new to the turntable game and there is certainly an upgrade in my future as my dealer is a HUGE turntable supporter - a lot of other dealers carry one line of table usually Rega because they have a name at a lower price.

My dealer has a lot of excellent turntable companies all over the price map from Pro-ject, NAD and Rega to Linn and Audio Note. The latter two will be the ones I'll be looking into. The store owner has AN TT3 (A Void Reference) which is my favorite of the tables I've heard - but for the money way out of my league. ~2kcdn price range will place me in the Linn and TT2 range and of course depending what pops up used.

For really cheap I liked the Pro-Ject better than my table stock - and the Pro-Ject (a new pick-up for this dealer) is IMO better - lean but crisp and cleaner sounding. Not sure I agree with the Turntable being better than CD - the Audio Note CD player with its no times oversampling was astonishingly 3dimensional full bodied clearer open etc.

I'm hooked on the all analog set-up these guys believe in - and when they do go digital they want it as pure digital as possible.

I'm always hoping some fool leaves a Linn at my used record shop - always have the eye out - the Linn was made me take notice of what good LP can do.