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My first turntable... Linn LP12

MeatInStereo

MeatInStereo

Can outrun 80% of snakes
Well I am sticking my toe into the vinyl water and now have a Linn LP12 table.

It has the Basik Plus arm and a Sure V15 Type III cartridge.

My friend is coming over to help me set it up this week....he had a LP12 back in '79.

I think I need a new belt and I woudl like to replace the oil.

When it comes to belts and oil....where is the best place to purchase these?

Also I have a felt mat but read about using rubber mats....any opinions?

Meat
 
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I've ordered Linn parts from UK suppliers on the auction site (including once from Linn itself). But I've recently heard that there can be issues with getting the oil through US customs - they seem to think that the terrorists might hide a bomb in it! :sigh:
 
Linn supplies the necessary oils to lubricate the main bearing. The pre Cirkus oil is not the same as the Cirkus Lp-12. You can get it from Linn dealers in your area. It isn't cheap :(! You can also get a Linn belt from the dealer (about 25$-30$).

On an LP-12, use the felt mat supplied, it is the one that sounds best. One thing about the felt mat, it sounds better on one side so you have to listen to both sides of the felt, the difference is obvious. Had they found a better mat, they would have supplied it on the market as they have for upgrades such as Nirvana, Valhalla, Cirkus...

Download the set-up manual from Vinyl Engine and follow the instructions. If set-up correctly, it's an amazing deck.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!
 
Thanks for the posts...I saw the oil from the UK but never thought about that.

I need to find a dealer than and get a new mat as well.

Thanks guys!

How is that Arm and Cart? decent?
 
The LP12

MeatInStereo said:
Thanks for the posts...I saw the oil from the UK but never thought about that.

I need to find a dealer than and get a new mat as well.

Thanks guys!

How is that Arm and Cart? decent?
Click to expand...

Is the first table I fell in love with. I hheard an LP12/Ittok/Trioka combination that was lovely to listen to. Even to this day, I would like to hear one again, to see if the magic is still there.

Linn's turntable building philosophy was table first, then arm, then cartridge. Not everyone agrees with this, but it seems to have worked for many Linn owners. I have heard more than one LP12 with a Basik arm and K9 cartridge that sounded so very nice.

Which version of the LP12 do you have, as there were several changes. I am not a LP12 expert by any means, and others can tell you the stage of LP 12 you have.

But if you choose to move it further down the upgrade path, then a nice Ittok would be a wonderful addition.

As far as the Shure V15 cartridge, it may or may not be the best match. Give it a listen to and see how things work out. The scuttlebut I have seen says the Linn MM cartridges were sourced from Audio Technica. AT cartridges tend to be a bit more lively than the V15. If things don't work out the way you like consider using an AT MM cartridge on that arm. If you do get an Ittok down the road, an AT OC9II would be a nice addition.

Enjoy your table! I think you have bought a nice one.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Thanks...i have beening wanting to get a table....almost bit on a couple of Thorens but just reading reviews and posts I wanted an LP12 so when I had the chance to get one... I did!

I am excited to get it up and running. I just got my Audio research SP9 III preamp at lunch form Fedex. I always liked passive pre's in my system.

Thanks for the info on the arm and cart....I have seen that Ittok arm and already know when I upgrade its to that arm. Based on that I upgrade I will then move to a different cart and will def look into that AT.

Its the Basik Plus....btw...is that the same as the Basik?
 
So...I just got the preamp in and connected the table. Overall it sounds great as in just how natural and "realistic" it sounds. I have had high-end cd players and looked for the "real" thing and even the best don't sound as non digital as this player....however the hiss and pops....that is distracting. Once I get this setup fully, will they go away?
 
Depends. Are your record clean? I mean, really really clean?


PS- nice first table indeed. I like the cart, too. The arm is nice and later on down the line, if you got the itch, the upper model Linn arms should really bounce your ball.

Best of luck!
 
MeatInStereo said:
So...I just got the preamp in and connected the table. Overall it sounds great as in just how natural and "realistic" it sounds. I have had high-end cd players and looked for the "real" thing and even the best don't sound as non digital as this player....however the hiss and pops....that is distracting. Once I get this setup fully, will they go away?
Click to expand...

Once you start using proper vinyl hygiene those pops, ticks, and surface noise will start to diminish...unless there is damage or you are hearing tape hiss from the original mastering...or, just crappy pressings...

I picked up my VPI 16.5 long after I got my LP-12...but, it made as big a difference as any thing I have ever done for vinyl reproduction in my systems, and I've been playing records since the early 1960's!

I was playing some of my Windham Hill records last weekend and was amazed at the absolute lack of surface noise... an occasional pop or tick, sure, but the background was silent and black....these were also bargain LP's I had picked up at Half Price Books, so there's no telling what kind of care they had had originally...it has been my experience, though, that classical LP's, Jazz, and such things as MoFi, Windham Hill, Narada, Nautilus, etc., have usually had previous owners that were more careful than most LP's owned by stoned-out rockers :D

No matter what the flat-earthers from Rega or Linn say, cleaning your records and stylus PROPERLY is tantamount to obtaining the best sound you can get....I've been on both sides of that argument and will never go back to the erroneous "let the stylus clean the record" school of thought....get rid of the Discwasher, too, if you use one, I used to but found it, too, was a contributor to groove noise...

Wash, vacuum, carbon fiber brush...play!

Good luck and have fun!
 
As thedelihaus said, the arm is pretty good, but it is definitely a MM oriented arm, the better Linn arms do a lot better with most moving coil cartridges...

That's not to say the Basik Plus wont carry a MC, I used an MC10 Super on the Basik Plus I had on my Axis, but the Akito, and even more so, the Ittok, really allow MC cartridges to strut their stuff...
 
Thanks guys!! I really am loving the sound though...I am not trying to start a vinyl vs cd war...I have read the numerous threads....but I just didn't think it would sound this good.

The first thing that comes to mind is all the CD players I have tried to get to sound "live" and "real" to a point where I can hear each individual instrument and voice....comparing players in teh $4000 to $8000 range....settling with a Marantz SA-1 that sounded the best and less digital....and this table blows it away IMO...with the exception of the hiss and pops.

The vinyl I am testing is brand new, just opened Mofi vinyl... Ryan Adams.

Does new vinyl need washed?

If so....how?

I am already considering an arm upgrade haha...this is worse than crack I bet...
 
I also have very revealing speakers... Martin Logan ESL's...

So MC carts are typically better than MM...? I am sure I am about to start a debate I have no clue about :D
 
MeatInStereo said:
I also have very revealing speakers... Martin Logan ESL's...

So MC carts are typically better than MM...? I am sure I am about to start a debate I have no clue about :D
Click to expand...

Depends on many factors- price point is one.

I use HOMCs (MCs) and MMs and the occasional MIs and have found good and bad in all camps.

There are plenty of great MMs out there, but it tapers off in numbers just shy of $1000, with a few exceptions. Above that, there are more LOMC MCs offered at some pretty lofty prices, and you do need to consider either a MC phono pre-amp or SUT to run a LOMC, so there may be added cost there.

What's your phono stage?

Oh- some great current MMs are the Ortofon Bronze and Black and the AT-150MLx, and plenty of vintage ones too.

Denon offers lots of good wallet friendly LOMCs with the 103 series, the 301 II, and 304 (and up), and there are Ortofon, Dynavector and Benz Micro LOMCs around the $800-$1200 range that are very tasty, in my opinion. But don't forget the SUT or MC phono pre-amp.



But yes- the MM/MC debate is occasionally as passionate and ruthless as the Belt/DD/Idler debates, or East Coast/West Coast debates, or Tubes/solid State debates, or Horns/Planar/Ported/Sealed/Transmission line debates.



Truth is, they all have the potential to perform well- and there's more to it than it's fundamental basis- there's execution of the design, synergy and of course fickle human preference.
 
Audio Research SP-9 is my preamp and it has MM/MC

Wow....so once I go Ittok...prepare to buy a cart too. How will the Shure that I have play with the ittok? Also how do you guys know this stuff...is there a math equation ?:D

Thats a great way to put it and end too....and save the debate !!
 
Congrats, that one heck of a first setup, it's gotta be nice to cut through all the junk and upgrades and land right at a 'beginning and end' setup. I spent a month with an LP12/RB900 in my system, they are very nice.

Once you get to an Ittok I would be looking for a cartridge that's lot more upscale than the Shure V15, try to get somewhere where you can hear a middle of the road Benz (ace/glider) Dynavector (20x/17d3) or even a shelter 501II. You have a preamp that can support a LOMC, and a turnable that deserves one, I think once you hear the difference it will be an easy decision.

Enjoy that deck, it's a keeper.
 
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MeatInStereo said:
Audio Research SP-9 is my preamp and it has MM/MC

Wow....so once I go Ittok...prepare to buy a cart too. How will the Shure that I have play with the ittok? Also how do you guys know this stuff...is there a math equation ?:D

Thats a great way to put it and end too....and save the debate !!
Click to expand...

gotta run- but watch some of the older Ittoks. They had non-serviceable bearing issues.

ps- nice pre-amp!
 
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