Interesting thought- Linn &

What upper end turntable is plonk and play?
They all sound their best when set up by a competent dealer.
"Rolled off" frequency extremes are definitely not something I hear from my LP12's.
Imho, the LP12 has been around so long that many opinions  have been aggregated over the years in the audiophile community , many of them propagated by people who have not actually heard a properly set up deck. 

I get my LP 12 "tuned" perhaps once in 5 years. My car is in the shop for routine maintenance far more often. 

melm,

I completely agree with you.  I listen to live music often and that is my benchmark.  I mentioned the second generation master tape as something that anyone with a quality open reel deck could enjoy and compare their analog rig too.

My Linn sounded soft, and very warm.  I also felt it sounded compressed compared to my idler drive tables and a couple of direct drive tables I've heard.  

My personal experience concludes that it is very difficult to get the table to sing. My purchase and upgrade path was nearly 10 years long.  Nothing should take that long to sound right or be that difficult to dial in.

It could also be a simple matter of the fact that I don't like the sound of a Linn.  No biggie.  I know a number of audio nuts that don't care for the sound of idler drive tables and thats fine too. 

daveyf,

I am in the City this weekend and will see if I can listen to the latest Linn mods.  I might be surprised.

N.

varyat, +1.

melm, I would know this because I have heard the top of the line VPI and I have heard a well sorted Studer. Playing the same piece, the Studer left the VPI in the dust.
If you really think a VPI can compete on the same stage as a Studer playing a master tape, well all I can say is I very very seriously doubt you have ever heard a top flite tape deck!