Linn LP-12 still competitive with the very best?

The LP-12 is a good enough turntable. My personal experience included endless upgrades and revisions which left me more and more dissatisfied. I went back to using an idler driven Dual 1229 which was completely rebuilt and then installed a Grace 747 tonearm. I love the pace, pitch and power of idler drive, especially with solo piano and small jazz ensembles. The Thorens TD-124 is an amazing turntable and if you are into swaping out arms at a moments notice, the arm board on the 124 is a jewel to change. I have also recently heard a properly set up Garrard 301 with the Shindo platter mods. Wow! If you have the opportunity, seek out a Garrard 301 with the Shindo mods and give it a listen. You may never want to hear anything else.

Well over the course of 1957 to present and having damn near owned ever table out there at one time or another as well as the Linn menetioned in this thread. I contiune to return to VPI turntables for many reasons.

The build quality is second to none, the upgrade path is there should one want to go that route. Straight out of the box they work as intended. Parts, service and advice just a phone call away. Solid dealer network. Stand behind their product.

When one considers all the parameters one needs to have for the analog medium, VPI stands at the top of my list.

First, let start out by saying newer is not always better!
In response to Schipo. Linn is still considered to be one of the better turntables around(according to most of the audiophile rags)and the reason that they haven't change their design philosphy is because one, its been tried and proven and two, if ain't broke don't fix it.
Linn has been at the forefront of turntable design philosphy for the last 35 yrs. or more. They must be doing something right! They're still selling a hell of a lot of turntables! I'm sure that having been in business as long as they have, they're intellegent enough to know when a major design change is necessary.(how many turntables has the audio critic sold?)
Folks kill me with this obsolete design argument. Its not about design or specs, its ultimately about how it sounds in your system. Again, folks have been saying for years that tube amps are an old antiquated design yet, the tube amp industry has been florishing for the last 10-15 yrs.
I wonder why? Its because real audiophiles listen with their ears! Its not necessarily about the latest technology or newest design, its about how the component performs!!!

No. Not in my opinion. That's not to say that a Linn can't sound pretty good.

I have not thrown away my LP-12. I have even inherited another one and optimized the original. It works well, I get to play my vinyl, I don't think too much about it. Am I wow'ed by the new designs? Yes! Am I going to spend as much as buying a new car to replace the Linn? No!
I do think that a lot of the negative attitudes we are hearing these days is Linn's fault. I think they are overpriced. If they have been tweaking the same basic design for so many years, I would expect design and production costs have been minimized. If I were looking for a new table, I would be checking out the competition, which has grown so significantly, that I would also expect Linn to be re-evaluating their position in the market.
I have also been disappointed with dealer service. This may be a localized problem, but now I go to an independent expert now whom I trust. This now sounds more negative than I actually feel. I can't really complain about so many years of reliable and musical performance.