Lp12, omg how did I get here

Peter Swain would be the first to admit that there is no alchemy involved in an LP12 set up; indeed he has written a fairly comprehensive guide on the topic that is a sticky post on the relevant forum. Linn has, in the UK at least, a network off dealers able to set up the deck - there are two within 15 miles of where I live, for example,, both of whom I know to be acknowledge by Peter Swain as "experts". The position is clearly more difficult in the US.  Im intrigued by the OP's quest for a TT given a vinyl collection of 50 LP's. If are his 50 all time favourite albums then I can see that it might make sense to invest in a top line TT; if on the other hand it is a typical collection of LP's I would be looking to make a significant investment in building a vinyl collection - a somewhat daunting task these days given the variable quality of many reissues.

Mark Dunn posted:

ricsimas posted:

I’m looking forward to having Peter over in November here in Texas. It will be the 5th time I host him between Brazil and the US, so I would defintely encourage you.

Hi Ricsimas,

I’m in the northern suburbs of Dallas. Where abouts are you?

Peter has helped me out several times but I’ve never actually met him. If he’s going to be not too far from me I’d like to do so.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Mark Dunn

Hi Mark,

I’m in North Houston, so not *that* far from you. 

By the way, I always used your guide for Aro anti-skating when I had that arm (I’ve since moved to the dark side with an SE). That is great stuff.

Cheers,

Ricardo

bluedog posted:

Peter Swain would be the first to admit that there is no alchemy involved in an LP12 set up; indeed he has written a fairly comprehensive guide on the topic that is a sticky post on the relevant forum. Linn has, in the UK at least, a network off dealers able to set up the deck - there are two within 15 miles of where I live, for example,, both of whom I know to be acknowledge by Peter Swain as "experts". The position is clearly more difficult in the US.  Im intrigued by the OP's quest for a TT given a vinyl collection of 50 LP's. If are his 50 all time favourite albums then I can see that it might make sense to invest in a top line TT; if on the other hand it is a typical collection of LP's I would be looking to make a significant investment in building a vinyl collection - a somewhat daunting task these days given the variable quality of many reissues.

The one thing I do have in my area is a fabulous vinyl dealer.  Don’t worry within a year the 50 will be much larger.  The 50 are what survived the 70’s.  

Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, I’ve just bought an RP10 from Peter!

good luck with your choice 

Dave

Bodger posted:

Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, I’ve just bought an RP10 from Peter!

good luck with your choice 

Dave

 

Well tell us, which cartridge and which phonostage?  

SME has produced a new integrated turntable / cart/ arm/ phono and ps, the synergy, for 15k. alternative to top rega or linn, and can fit a fraim shelf.

Richard Dane posted:

Mark, there's no problem with discussing LP12s on here.

Yes, no problems with the Skottish Player on here, just don't link to L*nn - or you'll have to recite " Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends" whilst having your nose tweaked, or something like that .

Fwiw, I went from a rega p3 directly to a lp12 almost 30 yrs. ago (yikes). I've had it serviced and upgraded maybe 4 or 5 times. Added circus and lingo 2. Just had it serviced again  when my lyra cartridge collapsed - it still played but the cartridge actually scraped on the record (yes I checked the weight). Anyway swapped for early ekos from ittok lvII. Also linn krystal cartridge. Still sounds terrific. My dealer is here in Westchester,N.Y. He now comes and takes it back and forth,if/when I need it serviced - which is very rare. Dave (from accent on music). may be able to do something despite the distance. He is excellent at setting up linn. I think the only non-linn mods he approves of are windsong(?)  plinths, which he does sell - beautiful, but rather $$$ goes elsewhere>

I believe I'm slowly but surely becoming my own LP 12  expert simply by dismantling it to replace or upgrade. So far I have replaced the Valhalla with a Hercules, the motor, adjusted springs for that "perfect" bounce then went through it all again by getting a Mose kit for the Hercules.  Furthermore just to keep the purists cringing I have polished the outer platter. I love my    LP 12  as it allows me a hands on experience that I find very satisfying. It may not be perfect yet but one day it may be, after all how does anyone become an expert at anything?

I'm so glad I "lost" all my vinyl in the late 1990's.  Whew!!

Zackwater

I am in the NY area.  Peter comes over to service mine (as he has been doing for countless years).  There are several others in the NY area he services as well.

You do not need anyone local - there is no need - and you will get better service with Peter.

Boddah-

How did you polish the outer platter?

Also any way to keep the felt pad on the platter when lifting a record off,or is their a better pad that won't shrink?

The forum never allowed PM's.  Is "post to this wall" an equivalent if someone wants to get in touch with another member?

ricsimas posted:

Mark Dunn posted:

ricsimas posted:

I’m looking forward to having Peter over in November here in Texas. It will be the 5th time I host him between Brazil and the US, so I would defintely encourage you.

Hi Ricsimas,

I’m in the northern suburbs of Dallas. Where abouts are you?

Peter has helped me out several times but I’ve never actually met him. If he’s going to be not too far from me I’d like to do so.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Mark Dunn

Hi Mark,

I’m in North Houston, so not *that* far from you. 

By the way, I always used your guide for Aro anti-skating when I had that arm (I’ve since moved to the dark side with an SE). That is great stuff.

Cheers,

Ricardo

Hi Ricardo,

I’ll make a note to get in touch as November approaches. I have customers in Houston so it’s easy for me to make an excuse to go there.

I’m glad the ARO bias mod worked for you! I still have my ARO with DV XV1-s and I’m closely following the TPA Javelin threads. 

Regards,

Mark Dunn

bluedog posted:

Peter Swain would be the first to admit that there is no alchemy involved in an LP12 set up; indeed he has written a fairly comprehensive guide on the topic that is a sticky post on the relevant forum. Linn has, in the UK at least, a network off dealers able to set up the deck - there are two within 15 miles of where I live, for example,, both of whom I know to be acknowledge by Peter Swain as "experts". 

My belief as well. The LP12 is not as delicate or temperamental as some suggest. Once set up, there's not a lot left to do except spin the records. Sure every two-three years you can think about a new stylus/cartridge, (depending on your listening usage), and this involves a bit of careful work with pliers, mini allen keys and an alignment gauge , but all vinyl replay suffers this problem. 

As for the initial set-up, well definitely there are some things that require close attention, but the set-up is basically sound engineering. Once you see where the design philosophy is coming from it makes sense. Linn are not perfect but they do try to get their dealers trained to do the job. Sometimes geography can be a bitch but that's true for all high end equipment. 

That said some turntables are simpler to set up. Which can be a consideration if you're stuck in a dealer wasteland. 

As to the sonics, well that's a separate issue, (and the most important), but I have nothing to offer as I don't have a turntable anymore. 

Bodger posted:

Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, I’ve just bought an RP10 from Peter!

good luck with your choice 

Dave

 

Hey Dave .... very interesting.

What made you go for the Rega RP10 over the LP12?

.... especially from the Linn guru himself!

Mr Frog posted:

.... especially from the Linn guru himself!

Other Linn gurus are available. Not that it helps ZW but mine is Phil March at Winchester Hi-Fi. About 25 mins away on a good day.

Mr Frog posted:

Bodger posted:

Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, I’ve just bought an RP10 from Peter!

good luck with your choice 

Dave

 

Hey Dave .... very interesting.

What made you go for the Rega RP10 over the LP12?

.... especially from the Linn guru himself!

 

Bodger, likewise, I'd also like to know a little more about the choice of RP10 over the LP12! Did you do an extensive comparison?

glevethan posted:

The forum never allowed PM's.  Is "post to this wall" an equivalent if someone wants to get in touch with another member?

The wall post is there for you to post a message to another member, however, it is not private, can be viewed by  everyone else, and forum rules still very much apply, so no offers of items, or email addresses please..

Yetizone posted:

Mr Frog posted:

Bodger posted:

Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, I’ve just bought an RP10 from Peter!

good luck with your choice 

Dave

 

Hey Dave .... very interesting.

What made you go for the Rega RP10 over the LP12?

.... especially from the Linn guru himself!

 

Bodger, likewise, I'd also like to know a little more about the choice of RP10 over the LP12! Did you do an extensive comparison?

Geography, and no. I’ve been living far from any Linn support for many years so for me it’s simple common sense. Plug in and play. 

It was un upgrade on my prior RP8. I ordered the Aphelion which I suspect contributes a good deal to the improved clarity and resolution. It’s going through a supercapped Superline. I’m still on non exotic loading for now as it’s a recent arrival and I want to get a base line before tinkering. 100R and 1nF. I’m not sure I need to tinker but there is always that itch...

For me that’s it for vinyl replay. I see this as the end game. Good luck to all with their own quests!

Dave

Thanks Dave - much appreciated. For similar reasons, a Rega of some sort is looking a more and more tempting prospect for me. Was the RP10 a big step up over he RP8?

I don't understand this fear of not having a linn expert within striking distance if using a lp12. Mine has been trouble free for 30 years - yes it has had several upgrades and services but the only "failure" was a cartridge and in the past I was able to put a new cartridge on a tt.  lets see; garrard 40b,dual 1210(?),thorens 160,rega3 and finally lp12. Granted all work on the lp12 has been farmed out but in truth 30 yrs. of good service from both the machine and the dealer. Overall it has run flawlessly with very little maintenance.

Bodger posted:

Geography, and no. I’ve been living far from any Linn support for many years so for me it’s simple common sense. Plug in and play. 

It was un upgrade on my prior RP8. I ordered the Aphelion which I suspect contributes a good deal to the improved clarity and resolution. It’s going through a supercapped Superline. I’m still on non exotic loading for now as it’s a recent arrival and I want to get a base line before tinkering. 100R and 1nF. I’m not sure I need to tinker but there is always that itch...

For me that’s it for vinyl replay. I see this as the end game. Good luck to all with their own quests!

Dave

Just an amusing aside that hopefully Richard Dane will allow me to share with you and thanks guys for so many positive comments:

In the very early days of helping Bodger I did offer to travel to install some equipment for him having researched where he was working/living at that time................. Dave kindly sent me a reply along the lines of it probably wouldn't be good for my health!!!

I think I'm right in saying there probably weren't any "living" Hi-Fi retailers in Sanna Yemen at that time and the same is likely now too! 

Thanks Dave 

KR

Peter

One more aside about long term care of a lp12 , for me the most frustrating thing is that the felt mat shrinks and doesn't stay round to cover the entire platter. It used to drive me crazy when looking at it, even replaced it once (despite being advised against it),and yep the new one shrunk. Now I just put a record on as fast as I can and don't look.

kevin J Carden posted:

I don’t believe there’s anyone in the World better experienced or skilled with LP12’s, not even at the Linn factory in Glasgow. Really looking forward to it as you might imagine 

I’m feeling that I should maybe restate this so that it perhaps doesn’t sound quite so hyperbolic given some entirely valid comments about the skills of other dealers. I stick by the comment that I don’t believe there’s anyone better than Peter, but that’s not the same as saying there’s no one equally skilled. To my knowledge there’s Ray at Graham’s, Phil March as Christopher points out and many others. I’d expect Linn to ensure that their dealers going much beyond the Basik package to know what they are doing with an LP12. My point is that it is not essential for every LP12 owner to go to Peter to avoid Audiophilia Nervosa about their set up.

The main reason I went to Cymbiosis for an LP12 dem was not because I didn’t trust anyone else on set up, but because I wasn’t sure a) whether I wanted a Rega or a Linn b) more importantly, I was attracted by the fact that no other dealer can demonstrate the effect that each individual component within an LP12 build can have on the sound of your chosen deck spec. I’m pretty sure no other dealer can do that as readily as Cymbiosis.

That’s not directly much use to Zackwater or anyone else who can’t visit the Cymbiosis dem room, but I’d guess it means Peters experience of pretty much every LP12 component made by Linn or any other specialist supplier is second to none. Kevin