Let's See What Makes Your Vinyl Spin!

The Xerxes has returned to Roksan. Other things have passed through in the meantime but today I returned to the flattest of flat Earth principles;
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One of Linn's finest bouncy boxes is here for a while. There used to be a sort of 'good, better, best' approach to the LP12 range but it's all got a bit more granulated in recent years because the idea is (apparently) to build what suits you from the off rather than pick a level and then change it later. As such, this is a 'Selekt' tier 12 but sort of 'lower Selekt' tier. Lower or not, it's still £11,500. For that you get the new Arko tonearm;
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As well as looking about a million times nicer than the old Akito, it does seem to work rather nicely- I haven't used an Ekos in a while but I don't remember them feeling as nice as this thing does. As you can see, you still get the three bolt mount to align Linn carts automatically.
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This is the equally new Linn Kendo. Made of the same aluminium as the arm, it's supposed to be a perfect resonance match. I'm not saying a cart that costs £3,080 should be anything other than 'pretty sodding good' but... this is easily the best Linn cart I've yet heard and it's not the most expensive one either...
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Otherwise, it's a selection of words with K in; Kore, Karousel and, um, Lingo. Some of you will note that this has a 'fluted' plinth like old LP12s used to have. It turns out Linn has started making them again so if you've had a taste bypass you can order yours with dust collecting grooves in. You could also up the spec with a Kandid and Radikal over this one but that will of course set you back more money. I'm happy to say I've been quite impressed so far.
 
In case anyone wants to buy one --> Sondek LP12-50 | Turntables | Linn USA
I’d rather have the Rega prototype that begat the P10 - the Naiad at $35k. As it is, after enjoying two different VPI tables over more than 30 years of trouble free use, I have found the Rega P10 to be an awesome bargain with incredible performance. No more fiddly bits adds to the experience.
 
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Read today that Linn has come out well a $60k version of the LP12. Why not?
Additional information on this table. It has design tweaks courtesy of one of the original Apple designers Jony Ive.

And what do you actually get on your new and improved $60,000 LP 12 table?

"On the whole, not much about the much-beloved turntable has changed – its appearance has largely stayed the same with the exception of slightly rounded corners and an aluminum power button took the place of the plastic rocker. Aside from an additional change of the hinge which more easily keeps the dust cover open at any angle, Ive didn’t change much else, owing to the fear that it would affect the sound quality."

SOUNDS LIKE A STEAL
 
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