Linn Karousel

[Musicmadmaniam]

Another point i want to make is that listening to music is an emotive experience, no matter what system you have and how much it cost you, if you listen to music and it moves you emotionally, sometimes to tears then that is what is important and nothing else!
As for this karousel bearing , is it a really an important upgrade?...errrr no not really!
Can i live without this upgrade as Linn would like you believe you cannot!....errrr yes i can thank you!
If i had the money would i get it anyway?
Errrr no! Im not that desperate to part with my hard earned salary!
Im not a sheep and will never be.
And if i did get this upgrade would it make a massive difference as promised in the blurb?
Errrr?? Maybe? But im happy with my system, a lingo would be nice as i could just use on deck for all my records but its not going to destroy my life if i never get them, ....sermon over!! Ha!

[Musicmadmaniam]

I got my Linn LP12 up to Lingo 2, Cirkus, Ittok LVIII, Troika, original Sound Organisation turntable table spec.

After reading about a bake-off hosted by Richard Dunn via the pfm forum, where an LP12 lost to some quite humbly priced Japanese direct drives I decided to try an alternative to Linn.

I bought an EMT 930 that needed a bit of work to get it going for about £1850, and spent a couple of hundred pounds on parts to get it going, including a standard Denon 103 cartridge.
I prefered the EMT straght away. Less woolly bass, with this being highly apparent on my Bozak Symphony speakers but less apparent on my Linn Saras. Better general clarity and dynamic ease from the EMT & Denon. The treble sounded cruder on the EMT Denon than the Linn.

I then bought an EMT 950 with an EMT TSD15 cartridge for £2250. The main difference between this and the LP12 was that the LP12 sounded like a 10 year old singing in my room, whilst the EMT sounded like a grown up Linn. Like a Pavarotti type professional adult singer belting out a tune in my room.

I then bought a new EMT TSD15 SPH for £750 and never used the Denon on the 930 again.

Today in 2022 I can't recomend EMT's - unless you find one at a price that's well below the current ebay going rates.

Well fettled classic Lencos, Garrard 301's 401's, Thorens TD124's with good arms and carts will get you World Class vinyl replay.
There's loads of direct drives that are Linn beaters too. Some of which I would love to buy and try, should my house get hit by a meteorite.
Quartz locking is not necessary for great sound on a direct drive. The Pioneer PL71 has no quartz locking and that's a Linn beating turntable.
Plasticky direct drives should be avoided. Metallic, heavy ones are worth buying and trying.

For classic vinyl sources I see enthusiasts as being custodians. Taking historic items, doing any required repairs and servicing and using and enjoying them and eventually passing them on.

An LP12 for £250 in 2010 was a sensible enough buy. But even then you could buy classic Lencos for peanuts and Pioneer PL71's and Sony PSX6750's for about £250 too.

At £856 buying a Karousel would be a highly marginal decision. I personally see it as the start of going down the Linn upgrade rabbit hole.

[Musicmadmaniam]

Yep as i said before, im not that desperate to get these upgrades, listened to records today and system sounded amazing! Im lucky to have a well balanced system i can enjoy greatly , even my old Akai deck sounds great through my AudioNote gear!

[CN211276]

I heard the LP12 in 1983 and it was a king with no clothes on moment. It dawned on me that the magazines were spouting and I lost interest in hifi for thirty years. When my interest resurfaced, through the Internet, I turned to high resolution streaming. A!though my source is not cheap, it is a fraction of the price of a Linn equivalent and I am sure a lot better.

[NSNO2021]

I had an LP12 with a Pink Triangle PSU for over 20 years and I enjoyed it but I always knew there were better TTs out there. When Linn started the process of introducing ever more expensive upgrades I voted with my feet and sold it. There is simply no justification for the prices they try to charge, they are insulting their owners intelligence. My current TT is a Rega Planar 8 and I definitely prefer it to the LP12 but once again I know it's not the best or close to being the best . Fwiw I can see myself getting a DD TT at some point in the future to see if I hear what others hear.