Linn Sondek LP12 upgrades

By Michael Jones

June 2007

Linn LP12 It surprises me to realise that it’s now some 35 years since the first Linn Sondek LP-12 turntable was first released. Since 1972 there have been various upgrades – the Nirvana, Valhalla and Lingo power supply being the best known.

Some 35 years later Linn release three new upgrades.

The first of the upgrades is the Keel. Made from a solid block of aluminium, the Keel replaces the subchassis, arm board and collar from a Linn tonearm. Because of the later, the Keels can only be used with Linn tonearms (Ekos, Ittok and Akito). It’s cleverly designed to match the weight and centre of gravity of the replaced parts, which means that there is no extra strain placed on the turntable suspension.

While the top surfaces are perfectly flat, the underneath is pocketed out to reduce weight and for added strength.

The Ekos SE tonearm is based on the previous Ekos arm. However, Linn say that virtually every component in the arm has changed with the new model. There’s a machined titanium arm tube with a stainless steel bearing housing. Linn talk about an improved fit and higher tolerances all around, along with an increased wall thickness in the bearing system.

The new version of the Trampoline Base Board uses aluminium in place of the melamine of the older version.

Sticker shock

The real shocker is the price of these upgrades. The Keel subchassis and armboard is $6750. The Ekos SE tonearm is $9995. The Trampolin Base Board is a mere $625.

Old versus new

I was able to compare a new LP12 (which includes all of these upgrades) with a slightly older model at Linn New Zealand’s showroom. The rest of the system was all Linn – the Linto phono preamp, Majik pre and power amp and Ninka speakers.

If you’ve ever attended a Linn demo over the years then you may have noticed that these demos often use fairly simple music (say, a vocalist with acoustic guitar accompaniment). I was determined to try something a bit more complex, so first up was a Mahler symphony – #4 by Soli/Concertgebouw from 1961, even before the LP12 was a gleam in Linn founder Ivor Tieffenbrun’s eye. This old LP sounded excellent on the new Linn.

Other LPs included older jazz (a Bob Brookmeyer LP), plus new LP releases from Paul Simon (the great Surprise album), Donald Fagen’s Morph The Cat and the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s Stadium Arcadium.

Comparisons between old and new were clear. The new Linn was clearer overall, had improved dynamics, a better ease to the sound and a better perception of pace and timing. The older model sounded somewhat cloudy and less interesting in comparison.

So I’m left with two conclusions. Yes, it is possible to improve the performance of the LP-12, but at a price – the upgrades are certainly not bargains. But what is a bargain are the number of good condition LP-12’s available second hand. The LP12 has always been a quality turntable.

The LP12 still lives!

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