New belt for LP12: how much?!?

joerand posted:

I just replaced the original (black) belt on my RP6 with Rega's reference (white) belt. Couldn't hear a goddamned bit of difference between the two.

I did the same and could hear a big difference. More stable, better soundstage, treble and bass against the black belt. For 45€ a no brainer for me.

Hey come on guys, £50 in this game? It's yesterday's fiver. HiFi never came cheap, quit carping, kick back and spin (a record!)

What a strange and paradoxical hobby we share.  Just been looking back at the fulsome praise heaped on the SL cables which are being sold at what are, by the standards of many of us, astronomical prices, but judged by their admirers as justifiable. Flip back to this topic and (as previously seen on the Linn forum) serious complaints about tipping up a fairly paltry £50 for one of the key components of the LP12.  I don't know when I will have to replace mine but, given the hours of pleasure I have had in 25 years ownership, I shan't lose much sleep over paying £50 to renew the belt.  Nobody has to buy an LP12 - you can always sell it and buy another TT that's as good - if you can find one

bluedog posted:

What a strange and paradoxical hobby we share.  Just been looking back at the fulsome praise heaped on the SL cables which are being sold at what are, by the standards of many of us, astronomical prices, but judged by their admirers as justifiable. Flip back to this topic and (as previously seen on the Linn forum) serious complaints about tipping up a fairly paltry £50 for one of the key components of the LP12.  I don't know when I will have to replace mine but, given the hours of pleasure I have had in 25 years ownership, I shan't lose much sleep over paying £50 to renew the belt.  Nobody has to buy an LP12 - you can always sell it and buy another TT that's as good - if you can find one

As far as a "belt" goes, I agree with what you say, and my post above expresses the same sort of view. But.................and its a very BIG "But"......

I get the impression that Linn are simply taking the piss and have been doing so for donkey years by hiking up their prices across the entire range of products.

My suspicions were aroused a few years back when they stared fishing for "acceptable" prices for the Akiva, the Keel, the Radikal and the Urika. It seemed as if they were simply trying to maximise their revenue, regardless of their cost-base.

Assuming the Belt at £18 needed a modest rise to cover inflation, let's be generous and say to £20, then the current £50 suggests an over pricing of two and a half times.

Apply a similar over-price to the entire product range and I think you begin to get the picture about which punters are reacting. Is a Kandid really worth £3k, or should it be £1,200 ?

of course if you really, really, really love whatever sound Linn products produce you won't think twice at paying £3k even if you know full well that it could be sold for £1,200 and still make a really good profit for Linn and their workforce. The same could be said for other Linn products and.............

..................SL cables ? or that "Tuned Array" stuff, or ................

I just don't think Linn can justify charging £50 for a belt when there are other TTs which cost 3 or 4 times  their fully loaded top model and the belts cost around US$80.00.  I love my LP12 but that is a total rip  off! No excuses. 

@ Hatman. No, I ain't selling mine either!

Tony2011 posted:

I just don't think Linn can justify charging £50 for a belt when there are other TTs which cost 3 or 4 times  their fully loaded top model and the belts cost around US$80.00.  I love my LP12 but that is a total rip  off! No excuses. 

@ Hatman. No, I ain't selling mine either!

 

And there you have it Tony - there are other TT's and one can always sell an LP12 and buy the 'flavour of the month' contender.

Don - in relation to the competition, in the form of Dynavectors and Koetsu's etc. I don't think the Kandid stands out as being over-priced.  As with most things in life - customers define their own value in terms of the benefits they perceive they get from a product in relation to price they have to pay for it.  That's why there is a relatively small, but sublimely happy, bunch of Porsche and Ferrari owners; and it's also the reason why I would personally never pay more than £15 retail for a bottle of red wine, for example. You pays yer money....

bluedog posted:

Tony2011 posted:

I just don't think Linn can justify charging £50 for a belt when there are other TTs which cost 3 or 4 times  their fully loaded top model and the belts cost around US$80.00.  I love my LP12 but that is a total rip  off! No excuses. 

@ Hatman. No, I ain't selling mine either!

 

And there you have it Tony - there are other TT's and one can always sell an LP12 and buy the 'flavour of the month' contender.

Don - in relation to the competition, in the form of Dynavectors and Koetsu's etc. I don't think the Kandid stands out as being over-priced.  As with most things in life - customers define their own value in terms of the benefits they perceive they get from a product in relation to price they have to pay for it.  That's why there is a relatively small, but sublimely happy, bunch of Porsche and Ferrari owners; and it's also the reason why I would personally never pay more than £15 retail for a bottle of red wine, for example. You pays yer money....

Yep, i'm with you all the way on this one. That's why I said....."if you really, really, really love whatever....."

Cheers

Don

I'm mightily temped to buy a £5.80 belt off he-play (sounds like) and do a back-to back comparison with the  Linn one currently fitted.
If they sound the same and do the same job, just think of the profit to be made re-selling them at even £25 a pop 

analogmusic posted:

And what is that turntable please ?

 

about n272 I also found it very good, in fact if buying today I would have bought a 272 instead of my 282

It's a Well Tempered Versalex (with Dyna 17D3 to DV P75 III and NAC52/52PS and powering my Shahinian Obs are a wonderful pair of NAP135s).......... love it all as it plays music beautifully.

blythe posted:

I'm mightily temped to buy a £5.80 belt off he-play (sounds like) and do a back-to back comparison with the  Linn one currently fitted.
If they sound the same and do the same job, just think of the profit to be made re-selling them at even £25 a pop 

Good luck with that.  £50 may perhaps be considered a lot of money for what is, on the face of it, just a belt made of rubber.  But I believe there is more than a grain of truth in the old adage "one gets what one pays for".