I purchased the Lp-12 after 5 years of wanting to get into vinyl. I almost made the grim error of buying a pro-ject table. I saw how these things are cheaply made. Crappy crude bearings, noisy motors and poor reliability. The RPM-9 (top line) might be a match for Regas P2. Maybe.

I initially found the Lp-12 with a Valhalla power supply, Ittok arm and K-18 cart. This unit was made between 1988-1992. It is in the 40,000 serial numbers. It is in excellent physical and working condition. I paid $1200.00. Considering that the Ittok is a $2700 arm, the K-18 moving magnet cart was a $300 cart and the table was $2k I think this was a good deal. I looked for similar offers, but found nothing close to this deal.



The LINN Sondek Lp-12 became a de-facto standard in 1972 when Ivor Tefenbaum introduced it. He showed that suspension was vital, as was the arm. The most basic version blew the then highly regarded turntables out of the water. Since then, it has been modified and improved dozens of times. In the 80’s it fixed what was it’s vague imaging and mid bass bloat problem.



This table ranges from a couple grand to run, up to $30k+ with mods and upgraded parts. This table really isn’t for vinyl newbies like me. It has a daunting set of adjustments and settings. Messing up any one of them, or choosing the wrong arm/cart combo will net less than amazing results. Once a competent individual sets it up, it’s good to go. It can be set up manually, or via use of an oscilloscope on the leads. Set up out of phase, you look for minimum amplitude on the scope. That will indicate best azimuth alignment. And the arm should be set roughly parallel to the record using a blank Lp for anti-skate adjustments.

I am not a hardcore “LINNIE” I have a tremendous admiration and fondness for the Lp-12. I also like Rega (even the modest P-3) VPI, SME, Michell, and so on. I don’t like pro-ject, Yamaha, Technics or any cheapo tables. IMO, they give vinyl a bad name because they are incapable of mods, and really don’t convey that much detail or music.

Through accidental means, I ended up parting with my K-18. The K-18 equipped deck reminded me a bit of a Rega P-25 with a grado cart. Beautifully musical, but just a touch polite on top, and not quite as revealing or lively as I wanted.

The accident:
I hand cleaned my 50 new Lp’s with a solution of distilled water, alcohol and one pin drop of dishwashing detergent. This got rid of 80% of the dirt and noise. But I must stress to anyone planning on vinyl, get a decent record cleaning machine for $250 and up. These will vacuum dirt out of grooves that hand cleaning doesn’t get. You have NOT listened to your LP properly until you really clean them. The result is the elimination of noise from the music, and increase in fine detail.

I put the Telarc Lp “Tchaikovsky 1812 overture” on. I knew that Telarc had no processing, and unholy powerful transients and bass. I did not suspect that the grooves would be massive 90 degree turns! As was pointed out to me, few carts in the world can even track this monster. Add to that, the massive whomp of my 15” DIY sub, and you get a needle that does Olympic hurdles into the center of the Lp.

Recreation of the event:
“Na nana na nana na na nah nah… BOOOM! POW! FUUUUUUU*********!!!!”I was upset to say the least. It accelerated my decision to upgrade.
I went back to the dealer, and he gave me a trade in on the K-18. I picked up a high gain, moving coil Ortofon Kontrapunkt A cart.



Holy cow! This cart is amazing! It has far more detail and speed than the K-18. No bloat. Better attack. Much better treble extension and detail. The imaging is holographic…just jaw-droppingly musical. The K-18 was probably like a partly cloudy day, and 80 degrees. (Polite and warm) where the Ortofon is more like 74 degrees and a clear day. Just a *touch* of warmth, not bloat or excess color.

I know there are more expensive/better/different combos out there. But I feel as though I have attained that magic that is what music is all about. I locks you into your listening chair. It helps erase that tendency to listen to part of a recording and skip through tracks. You are involved.

I can’t tell you what the best is. I can tell you that this deck has opened doors for me, and brought me closer to music than my SCD-1 or and cd’s ever did. I have six recordings on cd and vinyl, and a couple on SACD and vinyl. The vinyl versions are easily the best sounding. Even SACD does not deliver the timbre, tonal shifts and subtle fluidity of the midrange like vinyl does.

I will tell you that vinyl is far from dead. The vinyl market is far bigger and better than the SACD market is. I just paid $10 for Willie Nelson’s Stardust Lp new in it’s wrapper. That LP will raise the hair on the back of your neck, goose bumps included.

Even if the Lp-12 is daunting to you, or too much money, I urge folks to listen to a decent affordable deck like Rega makes. I will have a more direct review later on, but in the meantime I have 40 more Lp’s to listen to.