I found Religion: My first audition of an LP12

Posted by: glevethan on 23 February 2004

Hello to all
I have made several posts about putting my old system back together centered around my old ProAc SuperTablettes and a recently purchased Nait5 and a CD5. Vinyl replay was to be handled by a Rega P3 and associated cartridge.

The performance of my Naim system has truly been an eye opener as my entire CD collection sounds unlike it has ever sounded before. Each time listening to music has truly been an eye opener. Enough said about the Naim gear as we all are aware of its capabilities.

My vinyl playback has been something else. I keep on hearing that Analogue playback "should" be superior to Digital, however quite frankly I have been tremendously disappointed! I have A/B'd the same record/CD and the P3 is not even in the same league as the CD5.

A trip back to the dealer was made and the following decks were placed side by side (all running through a Nait5): Rega P3-RegaP25-Linn LP12. The audition went as follows: P3: the same result as before; P25 I heard an improvement on the scale of 15-20%; LP12--a RELIGIOUS awakening- this turntable is playing a different ball game-in a different city- in a different country. Today is Monday and I auditioned on Saturday and the demo is STILL permanently etched in my brain. I CANNOT stop talking to everyone about the differences that I have heard. I realize that many on this forum are "already believers" in the capabilities of the Linn and I now add my name to the list.
The following has been ordered: a new LP12-an Ittok arm which my dealer has available-an Adikt cartridge-a Valhalla supply (which my dealer also has available).
I am contemplating a second audition to listen to a Lingo power supply to see how dramatic a difference will be made. If it is truly a SIGNIFICANT upgrade than I will probably contemplate acquiring it NOW rather than later.
Thanks to all for listening to this rant.

Gregg
Posted on: 24 February 2004 by Basil
J.N.,

What's the plinth on your Sondek?


quote:
I am now wondering about the following options:

take a new Lingo2 over the Valhalla
OR
bypass the Lingo2 and go for a Flatcap2 to better the Nait5(and hopefully the phono end) AND the CD5
AND
what about my Stageline-change it to a Prefix?



glevethan, Source first, get the Lingo for the Sondek then, when funds allow, you can upgrade amplification confident in the knowledge that it won't show up flaws in your Record Player.
Posted on: 24 February 2004 by J.N.
Basil

Standard afromosia with grooves.
Posted on: 24 February 2004 by PJT
My LP12 is still bare (ittock, Rohmann MC), although did the valhalla upgrade a couple of years back.
In the meantime I went from 72/140 to Hi and just recently added an olive 250.
Each amp upgrade substantially improved the music and enjoyment.
My next upgrade will be the CDX2 before I think of upgrading the linn.
Posted on: 24 February 2004 by bdnyc
Greg-

If you haven't already figured this small part of the puzzle out, or your dealer hasn't already had a chance to explain this, your current cartridge choice, and the general sense of the "hierarchy of building an LP 12" would not suggest that you are a good candidate for a Prefix over the Stageline at this time. The Prefix is a superior phono stage to a Stageline, however, they only make Prefixes for Moving Coil cartridges, which tend to be more costly than the good, medium priced MM cartridges such as the Linn your dealer has advised.

From my perspective, many years ago I had a similar experience to yours, and I lived, and listened, delighted ,to a plain Jane LP 12 with the internal Valhalla supply, an inexpensive arm and a moderately priced cartridge for years. As my use of records expanded, and funds allowed, I did end up with a higher spec arm, a better power supply, and a nicer cartridge. Of the options you are weighing, the big one is whether you personally would feel that the Lingo II or an Armegeddon would be inevitable, in which case you might prefer to just buy one outright rather than buy two power supplies over time.

For me, neither was inevitable, but the Armegeddon I added after using my Linn for many years was a wonderful upgrade.

I hope this helps. Always try to seek out your dealer's advice on this sort of thing, as they alone amoung us have listened with you and to you, and may have a better sense of which sorts of improvements you are most taken with.

Good luck and good listening.
Posted on: 24 February 2004 by P
Mike seems to be on a mission. Is he the only one here convinced of the total superiority of the Lingo 1 over the 2? Anyone else heard this chalk and cheese / night and day difference of which he speaks? It'd be interesting to know.

And does anyone know when the revised electronics were introduced and how to tell the difference between a one and a two exactly?

Dom (did om dom?) - You know I can't discuss the fact that the Avond-harumphkerfuffle APX is as good as a Supercap here. Behave. The Flatcap2 does make a nice subtle difference to a CD5 but if you want real "Balls" you need something with a bit more grunt.

P - up with the larks

OTC - Hula Kula / The Numberer - Roxy Music
Posted on: 25 February 2004 by seagull
"Mike seems to be on a mission. Is he the only one here convinced of the total superiority of the Lingo 1 over the 2? Anyone else heard this chalk and cheese / night and day difference of which he speaks? It'd be interesting to know."

I think you mean superiority of 2 over 1.

I have heard the difference. I was at Mike's house when we changed over from a Lingo 1 to a Lingo 2. It was like a differnet turntable. It was good with the Lingo 1 but outstandingly good with the L2. Just more of everything in the same way that moving up the Naim hierarchy gives you more.
Posted on: 25 February 2004 by P
Take this thread to Cuba....

Yes 2 0ver 1

Do you mean "different"?


P

OTC - Your Application Failed / The Pride and the Pain - Roxy Music
Posted on: 25 February 2004 by seagull
No, I mean "differnet"
Posted on: 25 February 2004 by glevethan
P
Being the original poster, I agree, lets "Take this thread to Cuba...."

I tried to end it with a new "Part 2" thread however everyone continues to post to this original thread. So here is the final ending quote taken from the other thread:

"Well here is the short and sweet of it: I had a brief 10 minute audition today of the LP12 with a Valhalla and with a Lingo2.
The result: The Lingo by a mile !!!

My dealer played the following: Solomon Burke doing Sam Cookes "A Change Is Going To Come" and then Little Feat Live.
Solomon Burke- The first 60 seconds of the song was played 2 consecutive times with the Valhalla and then the third time with the Lingo--It took just the first 10 seconds of the opening drum track to show off the difference made with the Lingo.

Little Feat Live-the Lingo took a messy sounding recording and cleaned it up! Soundstage-separation-the previous "mess" NOW made sense and was much more coherent.

So here is the final outcome: LP12-Lingo-Ittok-Adikt. I think that I will now be happy!!

My system is FINALLY set and put to bed: Nait5-CD5-Stageline-LP12-ProAc SuperTablettes.

The Flatcap will have to wait!

Cheers to All

Gregg"


PS

BDNYC
My dealer did indeed inform me that a Prefix is out of the question due to the Moving Coil aspect (I suspect that our dealer might be one in the same due to our physical proximity to each other (and quite a dealer he is !). And yes the inevitable was to ultimately upgrade the power supply so it did not feel right purchasing a Valhalla now just to get the Lingo a short time later- and the demo really DID show me the difference!
Posted on: 28 February 2004 by P
Lacey - You Bastard!

You just cost me £900!!

For the record - The Lingo 2 IS a substantial improvement over the One. Drat.

P - OTD Recovering the Satellites - Counting Crows (don't ask)

One Mark 1 Lingo currently winging its way to Ebay as we speak BTW (it's a really good one so if you want a Lingo - buy it :-)
Posted on: 28 February 2004 by Tarquin Maynard - Portly
quote:
Originally posted by P:
Lacey - You Bastard!

You just cost me £900!!

For the record - The Lingo 2 IS a substantial improvement over the One. Drat.

P


£900 light, but that bit further down The Yellow Brick Road.

Glad to be of service - now you see (hear) what I have been yapping on about. Enjoy!

Regards

Mike

On the Yellow Brick Road and Happy
Posted on: 28 February 2004 by bdnyc
Gregg-

David and Alma are amoung the finest small dealers in the country, and I am delighted you have found a happy home with them. You would be hard pressed to be in better hands.

Enjoy the Linn, it is one of a very few true classics in all of high end audio. The Naim equivalent would probably be their much beloved, long running Nap 250 power amp, but that is another thread, and another story. I would say that the current Naim CD players are as close to classics as can be achaived in fast moving digital products.

Cheers,

Bruce
Posted on: 29 February 2004 by ClaudeP
Wow! I'm surprised.

I use a Planar 3/RB 300/Nagaoka MP50 and it was simply putting my CD3.5 to shame in terms of PR&T, definition, quality of timbres, etc. Simply no compare.

I recently upgraded to a CDX2 and based on my letest findings, the Planar 3 still has a small edge (mind you, the CDX2 is but 1 week old and probably not fully burned in yet.)

What records were you comparing the ^Planar 3 and the CD5 with?

PS And yes, I can certainly imagine that a Linn Sondek LP12 will totally outperform all of the above...