Linn LP-12 still competitive with the very best?

I found all those Linn upgrades to be stressing. Kind of like putting disc brakes on my old GTO and then wondering if I also need to make them power brakes or buy radial tires. I bought a Scoutmaster and a very good cartridge. An upgrade is now a better table or a better cartridge. Less stress, no more bouncing, and I know my setup sounds as good as it possibly can.

I regard the question as 'tragicomical' and fear that
one honest answer will be painful for so many owners.
I myself never got the damn springs ok. So when I
acquired Audiomeca J1 it was some kind of liberation.
That even better is possible I discovered with Kuzma
Stabi Ref.
Cheers,
Nandric

Martin Colloms is an Englishmen. Would you even think of him using anything but a Linn? I am sure if he changed camps, his readership would stone him to death with their Linn's.

Schlipo
I am an englishman too And as an ex linnie I can honestly say that I feel the Linn has had its day amongst serious audiophiles.
The Linn marketing machine marches to its own tune here in the UK and its dealers are not allowed nor equipped to demonstrate the superiority of other designs,Sadly a good 70% of UK dealers are Linn/Naim dealers even to this day,the unsurspecting punter walks in and gets sold the same old philosophy as thirty years ago and walk out of the dealers having been convinced that what they have bought is the best that money can buy!
The prices for silly small percentage/performance upgrades are absolutely rediculous in real engineering terms.
I just hope that many of todays users will see the light just as I have

Nandric: I wouldn't say that Linn LP-12 sucks because it doesn't. Some people are probably so proud to be a Linn owner that they tend to overrate the product --> that's a fact. It is the same as with Naim. Those brands are for people with a bit of acquired taste but that doesn't mean that they don't make good products.
* It appears to me though that many Linn and Naim owners are often easily offended and they tend to become "defensive" in their argumentation with regard to their "brands".

Chris