Hello daveyf,
Thing is.. I experienced much of what he was complaining about. I have had several turntables in my modest vintage system and by far and wide the Linn was the worst at communicating pace, pitch, power and musical presence to me. It just never had any drive. Comparing LP such as Miles Davis Kind of Blue on the Linn to a second generation Master Tape, the Linn isn't even on the same page. Play that disc on my ancient modified Dual 1229 and Grace 747 tonearm and suddenly I am in the game. The tape is better, as it should be, but the Dual does provide what I am looking for in LP playback. My Garrard 301 is also very good in this regard. A close friend has a Technics Sp-10 with a SME 3012 and it is sooo much better then the Linn it's comical.
I know those who love their LP12's and adore setting them up, and upgrading their various bits, etc.. Nothing wrong with that. I spent nearly four times the cost of the original arm and table in upgrades. It was so frustrating. I just wanted to hear the music played as it should. I didn't want to worry about what brand AC line cord I was using, or what power supply I had, or what type of belt, or what bearing etc, I had. I replaced all of that and it still didn't come close to my old Dual 1219 that I had prior to buying the LP12.
When I play a solo piano or guitar piece on my Dual 1229. the sustain of the notes is thrilling, the impact of drums, and the texture of voice life like. With the Linn they would dye off so quickly that it sounded like I was using a compressor for a preamp.
Hat's off to those who love the LP12s. If you find that the LP12 is your cup of tea, then you should use it and enjoy. Most LP12 owners I have met are usually thinking about, talking about or performing an upgrade.
Really? Whatever happened to buying a table setting it up and just listening? My Dual and Garrard don't provide me one ounce of snob appeal, but man I am telling you they do sound musical and that is what I am after. For me, it's the music.
Norman
