All,
Since my last post in the "Linn for the Win" thread in July, a lot has happened. Sort of. That post relates to how I was gifted an OG (1974) Linn LP 12 with a Micro Seiki tonearm in desperate need of, shall we say, a "tune-up". The whole story, up to getting the Karousel bearing, attendant suspension parts, and a 45 RPM adaptor installed is over there if you crave background. Moving on...
I knew as soon as I put the adaptor on a time or two that was never going to work for me, and I would probably move on to the Lingo power supply. The table sounded GREAT at 33 1/3, but the whole point of the exercise was to get 45 RPM capability for my MoFi and other 12" 45's I've been collecting. Be careful when someone gives you something... it could end up costing a pretty penny. As this deck certainly did. No one was holding any weaponry to my head, but I got hooked on the (somewhat touchy subject, apparently) Linn Upgrade Path. Is it worth it, is the Linn actually a good turntable, the Technics - and other vintage tables - are soooo much better, and so forth.
Me, I pulled the trigger and ordered the Lingo - No Half Measures. The parts arrived and although it took much longer to install them than I thought it would given my previous experience, it was finally ready to go after a few weeks. Additional parts needed to be ordered, the shop got busy, and so on. When the fateful day arrived, I took the 45 minute trip to, and the hour-and-45-minute trip back from (Chicago area) the shop to and picked up the deck. I was assured it was playing and worked properly. I was very excited. Until I got it home and put a record on.
The Linn is a fussy little bit of kit and when working properly, starts like this:
- Depress the "On" switch.
- The Red LED glows brightly indicating searching for stable 33 1/3 RPM speed
- When the LED dims, BOOM, Bob's your Uncle, it's stable. VERY. Play your record. To move to 45,
- Press the switch again, The Green LED glows brightly, indicating searching for stable 45 RPM
- That LED dims, indicating stable 45 RPM. Play your record.
None of that happened when I turned mine on. I got a steady bright red glow and that was it. It played, but would not lock on or move to 45. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed after waiting several weeks and spending an additional $2,500. My high-end shop seemed stymied but said they would look into it.
Enter the Internet.
There's quite a bit of information and opinion about the Linn on the Intertubes... and not much fence-sitting. A lot of folks seem to think its an overpriced copy of the venerable AR XA whose performance and measurements just can't stand up to "modern" turntables. A lot of folks like it. Some actually show you how it works. I started searching on why a Linn won't switch from 33 to 45 and came up with some interesting causes, including some direct from Linn. I stumbled on the secret in several YouTube videos which even my good friends at Quintessence Audio (who did the work) could not find. Seems they were asking the wrong questions. Everyone assumed something was broken. Nothing was broken, it was brand-new! Something was LEFT OUT in the assembly. It turns out that the constant, revolution-by-revolution monitoring and correction the Lingo performs is based on a tiny, stick-on piece of tape, really, that a sensor mounted near the pully reads as the platter goes 'round! Who knew??? Not the folks at Quintessence! I rigged a piece of foam on a roll of tape and stuck that sucker on the inside of the platter and VOILA, revolution Nirvana. I then looked in the bag of old parts (NEVER throw anything away, always ask for the old and left-over parts) and right there it was - a little peel-and-stick rectangle about 1/4" x 3/4". Off with the home-made, on with the "Factory" sticky, and it works perfectly.
As for performance...
This thing absolutely ROCKS! It "sounds" awesome! I've had the AR, Thorens, Technics, an Orbit U-Turn, and an Audio-Technica LP 7x, and this one blows them all away. I never thought a turntable was supposed to have a "sound", but this one seems to, and I love it. I really only took the project on because, A - it was "free" (Ha!), and B - it fits perfectly into my "vintage" system of McIntosh separates and the 3a's, all from the 70's as well.
As always, I welcome and look forward to any comments, criticisms, and observations on the Linn. It was up there to get it current, but money well-spent to get the sound and performance I was looking for.
Since my last post in the "Linn for the Win" thread in July, a lot has happened. Sort of. That post relates to how I was gifted an OG (1974) Linn LP 12 with a Micro Seiki tonearm in desperate need of, shall we say, a "tune-up". The whole story, up to getting the Karousel bearing, attendant suspension parts, and a 45 RPM adaptor installed is over there if you crave background. Moving on...
I knew as soon as I put the adaptor on a time or two that was never going to work for me, and I would probably move on to the Lingo power supply. The table sounded GREAT at 33 1/3, but the whole point of the exercise was to get 45 RPM capability for my MoFi and other 12" 45's I've been collecting. Be careful when someone gives you something... it could end up costing a pretty penny. As this deck certainly did. No one was holding any weaponry to my head, but I got hooked on the (somewhat touchy subject, apparently) Linn Upgrade Path. Is it worth it, is the Linn actually a good turntable, the Technics - and other vintage tables - are soooo much better, and so forth.
Me, I pulled the trigger and ordered the Lingo - No Half Measures. The parts arrived and although it took much longer to install them than I thought it would given my previous experience, it was finally ready to go after a few weeks. Additional parts needed to be ordered, the shop got busy, and so on. When the fateful day arrived, I took the 45 minute trip to, and the hour-and-45-minute trip back from (Chicago area) the shop to and picked up the deck. I was assured it was playing and worked properly. I was very excited. Until I got it home and put a record on.
The Linn is a fussy little bit of kit and when working properly, starts like this:
- Depress the "On" switch.
- The Red LED glows brightly indicating searching for stable 33 1/3 RPM speed
- When the LED dims, BOOM, Bob's your Uncle, it's stable. VERY. Play your record. To move to 45,
- Press the switch again, The Green LED glows brightly, indicating searching for stable 45 RPM
- That LED dims, indicating stable 45 RPM. Play your record.
None of that happened when I turned mine on. I got a steady bright red glow and that was it. It played, but would not lock on or move to 45. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed after waiting several weeks and spending an additional $2,500. My high-end shop seemed stymied but said they would look into it.
Enter the Internet.
There's quite a bit of information and opinion about the Linn on the Intertubes... and not much fence-sitting. A lot of folks seem to think its an overpriced copy of the venerable AR XA whose performance and measurements just can't stand up to "modern" turntables. A lot of folks like it. Some actually show you how it works. I started searching on why a Linn won't switch from 33 to 45 and came up with some interesting causes, including some direct from Linn. I stumbled on the secret in several YouTube videos which even my good friends at Quintessence Audio (who did the work) could not find. Seems they were asking the wrong questions. Everyone assumed something was broken. Nothing was broken, it was brand-new! Something was LEFT OUT in the assembly. It turns out that the constant, revolution-by-revolution monitoring and correction the Lingo performs is based on a tiny, stick-on piece of tape, really, that a sensor mounted near the pully reads as the platter goes 'round! Who knew??? Not the folks at Quintessence! I rigged a piece of foam on a roll of tape and stuck that sucker on the inside of the platter and VOILA, revolution Nirvana. I then looked in the bag of old parts (NEVER throw anything away, always ask for the old and left-over parts) and right there it was - a little peel-and-stick rectangle about 1/4" x 3/4". Off with the home-made, on with the "Factory" sticky, and it works perfectly.
As for performance...
This thing absolutely ROCKS! It "sounds" awesome! I've had the AR, Thorens, Technics, an Orbit U-Turn, and an Audio-Technica LP 7x, and this one blows them all away. I never thought a turntable was supposed to have a "sound", but this one seems to, and I love it. I really only took the project on because, A - it was "free" (Ha!), and B - it fits perfectly into my "vintage" system of McIntosh separates and the 3a's, all from the 70's as well.
As always, I welcome and look forward to any comments, criticisms, and observations on the Linn. It was up there to get it current, but money well-spent to get the sound and performance I was looking for.
I guess Linn didn't send them a Lingo 4 doc.
