Robbing Bar Stewards

[NSNO2021]

So Linn have announced a new super duper bearing assembly for the venerable LP12 deck and this bearing made out of good old everyday stainless steel costs ~~~~~ £750
Obviously this is only my opinion but to me that's an outrageous price, to me it's naked profiteering, taking your customers for a ride and whilst I enjoyed my LP12 for over 20 years it's Linn's exploitation of its customers loyality that made me sell it, that and the fact the Rega Planar 8 is a better deck for a lot less money.

See https://hifipig.com/linn-launches-new-k ... ndek-lp12/

[Latteman]

It is a bit steep, it’s the cost of upgrades etc that have put me off a Linn

[Lindsayt]

It was the £1800 odd cost of the Keel when it was introduced that got me off the Linn upgrade ladder. And made me decide to try an alternative to my Lingo'd, LP12, late Ittok, Troika.

I tried an EMT 930 (for £2100) with a Denon 103 cartridge. This sounded like a grown up version of my LP12. Making the LP12 sound like a 10 year singing the music.

With hindsight it's quite logical that my EMT 930 and then my EMT 950 with EMT TSD 15 sounded better than the LP12. The engineering is on a different scale and level to the LP12.

[NSNO2021]

If it was possible to conquer the Linn brain washing there's a lot of money to be made making better copies of many of the LP12 upgrades. My limited experience is modified and better sounding used LP12s sell for a lot less than inferior original used LP12s such is the grip Linn have on their customers thought process. And I totally agree £1800 for a Keel is another example of naked profiteering as is the Linn dealer in Manchester (House of Linn) charging £1,950 for a bamboo replacement plinth for the LP12 You must have money to burn to blow almost two grand on a plinth http://www.booplinth.com/buying-and-fitting.html

[Theo]

The Keel was a bit more than that: I remember £2.4k. That's when my 'Triggers Broom' LP12 of 27 years was put on the market, and I spent that amount on my Trio L-07D plus overhaul. It was easily a better turntable, and I haven't had to do a thing to it (bar new cartridges) in the past 9 years. In that time, a fully 'tricked out' LP12 (inc. internal phono) will now top £18k, and people will always upgrade theirs because of a FOMO.

The only other t/t I would now consider is a Pioneer P3 Exclusive, or possibly Lindsey's EMT. At this price range, the only difference between a vintage deck at £2-4k against the new uber-decks (sky's the limit) is presentation.

[NSNO2021]

I have just spent a very interesting 15 minutes with a cuppa reading the Wikipedia entry for EMT. Quite how they have escaped my attention for the past 30 years is a complete mystery but that's the joy of forums like this, there's always something to learn. Those EMT decks are quite something and it would be interesting to hear/see one

[NSNO2021]

A EMT 950 at 15000 deutschmarks in 1976 would be approximately £18,000 in 2020 allowing for conversion in to euros and inflation. I guess that's why their target market was the professional recording and broadcast people.

[savvypaul]

Does the £750 include fitting?

[Lindsayt]

I can no longer recommend EMT's - unless you find one at a once in a lifetime bargain price.

I paid £2250 for my refurbed EMT 950 with TSD 15 SFL cartridge. That was about 10 years ago. Since then they have shot up in price.
My EMT 930 was ex BBC. The 950 was ex Austrian national classical radio broadcast. It was a German ebay purchase that I picked up on holiday en route to Italy.

Also once you get to a certain level in TT's, the arm, cart, phono stage, support and location take over as being more important to overall sound quality.
The arm cart and phono stages in EMT's are all good. But there are plenty of other alternatives that are also very good.

[CN211276]

£750 is quite reasonable compared to their £50 drive belt.