Linn Owners

What's your original Linn?

Andyt916

Wammer
Wammer
Oct 27, 2020
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Hertfordshire, UK
AKA
Andrew
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Inspired by a recent conversation on another thread, I thought it would be interesting to find out what we still have left from our original Linn system.

The LP12 thread seems the most obvious place for this, but other Linn component owners please feel free to drop in...

To start off with, I bought my LP12 in 1987. The original bits still left in place are:

* Plinth
* Top plate
* Outer platter
* Lid (not the hinges though)

So, do you have an immaculate original, or a Trigger's broom?
 

Mr Kandid

Well-Known Wammer
Wammer
May 29, 2019
1,790
3,088
148
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Plinth
Top plate
Lid (not the hinges )
Cross brace
Hinge Sockets
Manual
Packaging
Guilty member of the Triggers broom appreciation society. (y)
 
Last edited:
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MickC

Expert Thread Disruptor
Wammer
Oct 8, 2018
1,371
1,391
148
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
LP12 bought in August 1980 (for £340!). The only things remaining are the hinge sockets!

Mick
 

Moomintroll

Fictional Character - not to be taken literally
Wammer
May 20, 2014
3,516
4,525
148
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
No, I’ve nothing I started off with. I’m on my third LP12, but just the plinth, top plate and lid left of that.

’troll
 

audio_PHIL_e

audioPHILe
Wammer
Jul 21, 2020
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The wrong planet
soundcloud.com
AKA
Phil
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I got my LP12 in either 1999 or 2000 with a Naim Armageddon PSU, a Naim Aro tonearm, and a Dynavector XX1L cartridge. A Tom Evans microGroove phono stage was later replaced by an EAR834P but the turntable and the other stuff that goes with it have done me proud and I've not felt the need to change them.
 

Roonster111

Newbie
New Wammer
Dec 30, 2018
29
32
18
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Middle ground for me, 1996 purchase and still have the original plinth, top plate, lid, hinges, and Aro (and packaging 🤣🤣).. Oh and outer platter
 
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dikki

Wammer
Wammer
Aug 5, 2019
267
286
83
Amsterdam
www.dikki.nl
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Plinth
Top plate
Lid (not the hinges )
Cross brace
Hinge Sockets
Guilty member of the Triggers broom appreciation society. (y)
👆
oh.. i spotted the missing hinges. I still have those.
missing the original front protectors of the lid though. Anybody still have those?
 

DaveS

Newbie
New Wammer
Jul 28, 2019
24
21
23
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Bought my Linn from Graham's in 1978.
It's now fully up to date, Radical, Karousel, etc! I don't use a Linn pickup, so I am not sure what's left....even the plinth I went from afromosia to black years ago and swopped out the lid..
.......Maybe the top plate and the hinges?
 

sktn77a

Audio Dinosaur
Wammer
Nov 11, 2014
1,163
1,101
148
NC, USA
AKA
Keith
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Only original part from my 1982 was the smoked perspex lid that I liked for 40 years.
I sold this recently to get a clear lid so now........ nowt!
 

Daveyf

Wammer
Wammer
Oct 12, 2018
782
490
68
San Diego
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
From my original '84 model, top plate, plinth and clear lid. Luckily all still in like new condition.
 

Wenge1

Wammer Plus
Wammer Plus
Sep 19, 2021
3,282
16,886
183
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Hinge sockets and lid are the only things left from the original LP12 purchased back in 1987 :cool:
 

ThomasOK

LP12 Whisperer, Lejonklou importer
Wammer
Oct 19, 2018
2,044
4,166
133
Westland, MI USA
AKA
Thomas O'Keefe
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
My first LP12 was purchased in 1978 and I put a Grace 707 II on it and I think moved a Shure V15II onto it initially from my previous Transcriptors Saturn. Being in the industry I mostly sold my LP12s and bought new ones when I wanted to upgrade going through a Mission 774 arm and Supex SDX1000 to an Ittok LVII/ASAK and Valhalla, Karma, Troika and from Afromosia to Black plinth. Then I left it alone for a number of years when I was selling computers until around 2000 when I got upgradeitis. I saw a really good deal on a more up to date LP12 on eBay that was a reasonable drive and picked it up. It was set up horribly with a loose armboard for starters. It got me a cross-braced plinth, Cirkus bearing and sub chassis, Lingo 1, Ekos 1, Arkiv A and the other new parts that came with it. You could say that I still own that LP12 but I'm afraid only the serial number sticker and the carton and packing have made it to modern days.
Items replaced:
Top plate to get motor stud and all new, hand chosen hardware
Lingo 2, then RadikalA 1, Radikal K1 and Radikal K2
Ekos 2, then SE now SE/1
Akiva, then Kandid now Ekstatik
New Cirkus bearing, now Karousel (new springs and grommets included with these)
Keel
New outer platter since Linn had made a slight change that I thought slightly more musical
Woodsong Audio Movingui plinth with custom internals, new hinge plates installed (why not?)
New dust cover and new hinges
Trampolin then Urika 1 now Trampolin 2 (using Lejonklou SINGularity just upgraded to 1.5)
T.Kable (original version) now Akito arm cable (same as original T.Kable but with the newer Linn DIN plug)
New felt mat and new belts (came with Cirkus and Radikals)
New nuts and washers here and there as I found better choices (all Linn but not all current parts-I used three different nuts in my build)
Unless I missed something, that definitely makes my LP12 a ship of Theseus!
 
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Nopiano

Wammer Plus
Wammer Plus
Jul 19, 2016
9,776
8,316
183
Monmouthshire, Wales
AKA
Nick
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I’ve still got the original rubber mat with radial ‘spokes’, and the slim black instruction book with red lettering on the cover. That’s it I think!

Both came with my early ‘export’ Sondek, supplied without arm, but with an arm board cut for an SME.
 
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akamatsu

Michael
Wammer Plus
Oct 9, 2018
7,221
8,111
183
Point Roberts, WA, USA (Vancouver)
AKA
Michael
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Here are my upgrades throughout the years:

Plinth: 1975 Afromosia, corner braced black ash, Santos rosewood Woodsong
Bearing: Pre-Cirkus, Cirkus, Karousel
Power supply: Line, Valhalla, Lingo, ARadikal, KRadikal, KRadikal 2
Sub-chassis: Pre-Cirkus, Cirkus, Kore, Keel
Tonearm: Grace 707, Ittok LVII, Ittok LVIII/2, Ekos SE
Cartridge: Sumiko Blue Point, Linn K5, Linn K9, Linn K18II, Troika, Krystal, Kandid
Base: Solid, Trampolin 1, Trampolin 2 (Urika 2)
Phono preamp: Naim Nait 2, Linn Majik-I, Kairn MC, Linto, Urika 2
Outter platter replaced in 2021
 

ThomasOK

LP12 Whisperer, Lejonklou importer
Wammer
Oct 19, 2018
2,044
4,166
133
Westland, MI USA
AKA
Thomas O'Keefe
HiFi Trade?
  1. Yes
Here are my upgrades throughout the years:

Plinth: 1975 Afromosia, corner braced black ash, Santos rosewood Woodsong
Bearing: Pre-Cirkus, Cirkus, Karousel
Power supply: Line, Valhalla, Lingo, ARadikal, KRadikal, KRadikal 2
Sub-chassis: Pre-Cirkus, Cirkus, Kore, Keel
Tonearm: Grace 707, Ittok LVII, Ittok LVIII/2, Ekos SE
Cartridge: Sumiko Blue Point, Linn K5, Linn K9, Linn K18II, Troika, Krystal, Kandid
Base: Solid, Trampolin 1, Trampolin 2 (Urika 2)
Phono preamp: Naim Nait 2, Linn Majik-I, Kairn MC, Linto, Urika 2
Outter platter replaced in 2021
Somehow that Cartridge line looks to be one short!😈
 

Dasher

Wammer
Wammer
Jun 7, 2019
941
1,040
98
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I bought my first LP12 in 1977 and sold it around 1980. It was in the same configuration when I sold it as it was when I bought it.

I do own the first LP12 that I ever heard and that is the subject of a separate thread elsewhere on here. The original owner had done absolutely nothing to it since purchasing it in 1973 and, midway through last year I was the first person to take the base cover off. It is 100% original.

We have two other LP12's.
Tracey acquired hers in 2014. It was an eBay purchase. It wasn't her first piece of Linn equipment as she already had (and is still in the loft here) a Classik Music. This LP12 originates from 1978. The chassis was completely rebuilt in 2011 - Cirkus bearing and chassis, new maple plinth, Trampolin 2 and Hercules 2 and Lid. It has an Ittok which has been with it since the mid 80s (SME 3009 originally). At that point the only original bits were the top plate, outer platter and motor. Since 2014 it has had a Majik Chassis and the Herc 2 placed in a Mose and this has recently been further replaced by a surplus newly recapped Lingo 1 and a motor from 2000. It now also has a surplus Kore. So it still has the original top plate and the outer platter. It has a fantastic sound and it will not be getting anything new for a long time (not even a Karousel).
"My" Lp12 was bought new by myself from a strange place (Linn dealer) on the western outskirts of London back in 2000. They were mainly high end AV and are long gone. The spec was Black Ash Plinth, Lingo 1, Akito2, Cirkus A&R P77 and it was a steal at £1400. Apart from me changing the springs and grommets really early on as I was never happy with the set up (and adding a T1 at the same time) it stayed that way for a decade at least. It did get an Adikt when they were released - and had several more before I just lost patience with the ever collapsing suspensions. In 2014 I acquired an Ekos 2 off a member on the old forum (Thanks Paul if you are still on here - it's still going strong) but didn't fit it straight away. I fancied a new plinth as the black ash was showing its age - and Linn promptly doubled the price of the things. Peter offered me one 'new old price' and for the first time ever someone else was allowed one of my turntables apart! In true Cymbiosis style it acquired the newly released "Kore" during the plinth swap, a Trampolin 2 - and finally had the Ekos fitted. The Power Supply was still the Lingo and that had been recapped in 2012. The Akito 2 went on my dad's Axis and the Black Ash plinth went to live in the USA, along with the Basik + off the Axis and the Cirkus Chassis. My LP12 stayed like this for the next four or five years. It was also MC at this time, with a Lingo and various cartridges - my favourite and longest lasting being a Soundsmith rebuilt Asaka (which I still have as a spare). Then 2 years ago things went silly!... I finally bought a jig - big mistake!! The top plate went first - TP Khan (I still have the original because that keeps the serial number) then a Uphorik replaced the ASDM phono stage (which had already replaced the Linto (although the time it was still in the loft)) followed swiftly (within a week) by an Akurate Radikal and then a Karousel. The Lingo has since been recapped and yes, you guessed - now powers Tracey's LP12 (along with the motor transplanted from my LP12). Finally, about 6 months ago it got a Keel - and Tracey's got the Kore! So, what remains? Lid, hinges, outer platter. I'm pretty sure that is all - even the cross brace is now the one as supplied with the Khan. Oh, and there's a TP Skale Counterweight too!

Dad's Axis has also moved on. He now has a 1980 LP 12 - which has my old cirkus, Tracey's majik chassis, lid off the Axis, Akito 2 off the Axis and a recapped Valhalla!

My oldest pieces of Linn kit still in use that were purchased new by me are my Keilidhs from 1996. Dad's Classik is from around '99 and still going strong too. The LK40 that he feeds from the Classik may even be older but I'm not sure.

Technically the oldest Linn branded product that I have owned from new and still have, unchanged, is a first pressing of "A Walk Across the Rooftops"!!
 

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