How to upgrade my original Linn?

[hifisoup]

I have a Linn LP12 with Basik tonearm which I purchased back in 1985ish. It has always worked well and I have not added any Linn upgrades.

I'd like to upgrade it, have it tuned up, etc. Any suggestions on: 1. Where to have this done in the Chicago/N. IL area and 2. What Linn upgrades would make the most sense and 3. Is a tune-up necessary?

Thanks all.

[SMc]

I have a Linn LP12 with Basik tonearm which I purchased back in 1985ish. It has always worked well and I have not added any Linn upgrades.

I'd like to upgrade it, have it tuned up, etc. Any suggestions on: 1. Where to have this done in the Chicago/N. IL area and 2. What Linn upgrades would make the most sense and 3. Is a tune-up necessary?

Thanks all.I'd try the Valhalla power supply. I think these can be found used, although they do have electronics that can go bad. I had mine repaired and found that Linn had a package of replacement parts that was more expensive than buying them a la carte! Nonetheless, cheaper than a Lingo.

I also recommend the Cirkus rebuild, which would replace most of the metal parts: platter, bearing, etc, and get rid of the Linn "spare tire" upper bass. However, you might like your sound as is, and some people reportedly don't like the change.

The Trampolinn is not recommended purely for cost reasons. A better arm would make a difference, but there's a bewildering number of choices out there, so I'll defer to those with more experience. I like my Ittok.

If your LP-12 still bounces flat, you don't need a tuneup. I only have mine done after moves.

Stephen

[Tony Plachy]

You might find this useful:

http://www.knekt.com/buy_linn/find_retailer_get_retailers.cfm?continen t=1&country=18

[TimB]

Well, I would have it tuned up . You can do it yourself, or pay and have it done. If you never have done it before, it pay's to have some one else do it for you, that way you can hear and see how a properly set up Linn should operate. As mentioned before, a Valhalla is nice, but the integrated circuit parts are no longer availble from Linn, so a used one will always be gamble. Another option is to spend $300 bucks or so on a Head power supply regenerator ( I know you can get one from Music Direct there in Chicago Land), and use it with your Basic set up. This should be some where between the Valhalla and the Lingo supply upgrades. The Cirkus is well worth it as well.

[fxsuperglide]

I have a Linn LP12 with Basik tonearm which I purchased back in 1985ish. It has always worked well and I have not added any Linn upgrades.

I'd like to upgrade it, have it tuned up, etc. Any suggestions on: 1. Where to have this done in the Chicago/N. IL area and 2. What Linn upgrades would make the most sense and 3. Is a tune-up necessary?

Thanks all.

If you purchased it new in 1985, it is likely a Valhalla circuit board equipped deck (unless it had been sitting at the dealer for a while). Depending on the serial number, it could have the warp-prone spotwelded subchassis or the significantly improved bonded crossbrace type subchassis (I have a way to repair and improve the earlier subchassis, but it's often easier to try and find a post-1985 subchassis if possible). The newest armboards are formica laminated MDF (more rigid than the previous armboard, which had 3mm facesheets of "masticboard" over a 4mm piece of plywood, which was prone to warpage and possible delamination). One other critical item: the Valhalla board is 20 years old by now and likely needs new capacitors (motor weak on startup?). Though I have yet to try it, I did purchase a Hercules II 33.3/45rpm circuit board (virtual direct aftermarket replacement for the Valhalla, has a new two-speed switch to replace the Valhalla switch - at $300, it's definitely a less expensive alternative to the $1500 Lingo). Besides, it'll cost money to have the old Valhalla repaired (with no guarantee that it'd last another 10-20 yrs). As for the tonearm, if you're using a moving magnet cartridge (such as Shure or Audio Technica), your arm should suffice. The Akito may be considered an upgrade, but a few earlier ones could suffer bearing problems. The Akito MKII tonearm is definitely improved, with all dust-sealed bearings and an improved rubber strip design to support the counterweight (replaces the poorly designed O rings of the MK1 design). Unfortunately, that arm now costs $1,000. Perhaps the Rega is still one of the better new tonearm bargains (even if it has some minor compromises). Otherwise, look for a good used Ittok tonearm. My thoughts.

[TONEPUB]

Stick with the Linn arm.... The other arms are all heavier and rob the LP-12 of it's signature sound somewhat. There are all kinds of arguments here and I have a few tables that I really like a lot, including my SME 10 and a tweeked out Rega, but I've heard a number of well setup LP-12's and the best ones were all Linn. I have a bastard LP-12 that has all the Cirkus, trampolin and Lingo updates but a Graham 2.2 arm and it sounds a bit slow. As soon as I have a few extra pennies, it's getting converted back to a Linn arm. I might even get really mental and get a Linn cart as well.

Good luck.

If you can't find a guy in Chicago that you like, an old buddy of mine, Jon Spelt works at UltraFidelis in Milwaukee, Wi

www.ultrafi.com

He's a LP-12 Stud. Has been doing it for about 20 years and is very meticulous. Tell him Jeff at TONE audio sent you....

[Dennis Metz]

Has anyone tried the Hercules?