Interesting thought- Linn &

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!

Just to add..
There is something about a record player looking like, well, a record player! The LP12 is compact , doesn't require a lot of space and doesn't weigh a ton. Nice and simple..plays the record.
Some of these newer decks require an aircraft carrier to land on and weigh a hundred pounds ( or more ! ). The KISS rule has served me well in life for most things. Just something that came to mind...have a great New Years guys!
ATB,
Mark

I've followed how this thread became a Linn vs the rest of the world thread. That said, were I starting from scratch in vinyl and would sink $10,000 plus into a vinyl front end, I would consider the Linn once again. But it would not be the only thing on my radar. I'm deeply impressed by SME these days. AMG as well. 

Heres as his I look at it- a top spec LP12 has to run about $20,000. In that price range the Linn is, I believe, competitive but it's not the only game in town. 

I too try to live by the KISS method, but easier said than done! But one thing Linn nailed in the KISS universe is the three point cartridge mounting scheme. 

Well folks, welcome to 2016. Let our biggest angst be disputes over the relative merits of the LP12 and whatever else. 

The irony, zavato, is that Linn instigated and promoted the notion of "Linn vs the rest of the world" with their argument that all other turntables (pre-Linn) had been designed and built with a deeply mistaken assumption---that a turntable is an electronic device, rather than a mechanical one. And Ivor was quite correct! But other designers, it can be argued, have taken his design principle even further, and, employing "better" materials and machining, created tables whose performance beat the Linn at it's own game. Whether or not that is true is a different question.

What I object to is Arthur Salvatore's assertion that Linn simplifies the music.  While Normansizemore's description of rolling the extremes might be a better description, if that's true, getting the intent of what the musicians are trying to convey is just as, if not more, important than getting all the notes(etc.) correct(in most cases).  I did listen to needle drops on the Pink Fish Media, and none of the other tables were as good as the best Linn.  Many tables were left out. but to give some perspective, that cheaper dd Technics wasn't in the same league as the Linn, although you could hear improvements in it, when he upgraded its parts.