We may be getting some misinformation. I heard a very different version, from several different people on three continents, and all the versions agreed. So it might be true. Ariston came first. It neglected to patent its innovations. Young Ivor Tiefenbrun realized this omission and quickly filed those patents. Linn used Ariston's technology — and Ariston was no longer allowed to. Thus was Linn born. Thus did Ariston die.
from my hazy memory the ariston story was an interesting one...
Actually Ariston's expertise which culminated in the LP12 'copy' didn't really die...and both turntables still owe most of their basic design to Edgar Villchur's original AR 3 point T bar suspended anyway . So, they were less innovative in context of the development of the 3 point suspended but probably more refined in execution than Villchur's initial AR offering. I think Linn simply inverted the main bearing of the Ariston and called it the lp12 ?
The Lp12 was already outdated by the time turntables such as the Logic DM101 with Logic datum tonearm , the Pink Triangle PT TOO and Roksan Xerxes , thorens td-521 , heybrook TT2 etc came along on this side of the pond...hence the constant fiddling with the basic LP12 format all along , offering ever better power supplies , wood finishes and tonearms etc to try and keep their old but essentially identical ariston copied platform competitive.
Then , along comes 2 budget killers , the rb250 and rb300 single cast one piece tonearms...unheard of in mass produced form anywhere and the result of some expensive R&D and award winning patented fabrication process . Again Linn has a sales headache.... too late to copy anyone now... too expensive to innovate... and cds are taking off....then along comes the alphason hr-100 arm... and thereafter, I saw most linn turntable products it as just a repackaging branding exercise...Although I can't fault their budget arms , or their turntables , both sounded good. but not in anyway so superior to the rest ( and cheaper variations on the same theme ) that you'd thrown away a well sorted thorens td 160 , or thorens td 320/ or td321 to acquire , unless you like burning money for fun.
The Systemdek range , including it's biscuit tin design that preceded the ariston 40 and Ariston Forte as it was also known..clearly has similar design input although consumers at the time weren't keen on anything that wasn't square.. The elusive Systemdek IV was also probably an Ariston derived attempt to knock the LP12 back to the drawing board... and I think was directly influenced by some of the people who worked with Ariston initially. The Ariston brand actually kept developing its turntable range at several price points from the RD20 right the way up to the rd90 superieur or RD90S before cd began to take a big chunk out of all turntable manufacturers and most of them shut up shop for good. Their Q deck was initially released to take on the likes of the Popular entry level Dual CS 505 II deluxe and the simpler but more robust Rega Planar 2 in the mid 80s early 90s alogn with such as the Rotel rp-830 etc..and was actually a revamp of the initial RD20 ( also entry level but just as elusive due to low production runs iirc). I think the Ariston Icon was probably its last gasp at offering a decent, affordable 3 point suspended based on the success of the rd80 3 point suspended then quite limited run of the rd50/60 fixed/suspended pair..which at the time of release was still being experimented with in terms of outward cosmetics and I think they ever tried to release an electronic speed switching version of the rd50/60 but i doubt they got much further than a few prototypes. In hindsight... I think Ariston , Thorens , Acoustic Research , Logic , Systemdek , and several others much as Walker , Michell kept pushing the development of the format regardless of the digital onslaught and were actually more innovative in their product range across the entire budget range before Linn decided to offer the Axis as High end turntables began to wobble in terms of sales. Ironically... it was the simplicity of the the rega p2/3 and turntables like the thorens td160s and the technics 1210 which probably helped vinyl to survive at all...I don't think Linn's LP12 sales and price tag were helped by anything except other manufacturer's innovations in a rapidly shrinking market... especially when turntables such as the gyrodek entered the high end and made everything else look ancient in one simple minimalist rotation.... Plinth ? what plinth ? why does a high end turntable need a plinth anyway ? they probably reasoned..as far as vibration is concerned..garbage in garbage out... cue the Gyrodeck's space age but minimalist looks... more Linn headache...
not been on here for a while, life got in the way...
