52 & LP12 upgrade questions

Hi-Fi Corner
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Hi all wish you a happy new year of music! (and possibly gears upgrade :laughing: )

Thanks to your advices in my previous thread, I bought 52/52PS to replace my 32.5/HC and the result is incredible – I’m in the camp of ‘why-not-doing-it-earlier’. What you all mentioned are 100% true.

Going with CDS1 I love how it communicates the music on emotional level in an effortless way. Not only vocals but also instruments – all these happened only after 2 hours of warm-up. It’s my first time hearing such effect in HiFi.

My question:
What upgrades should I do to get my LP12 (pre-Cirkus/Ittok/Valhalla/Troika) to communicate the emotion level of music with ease like CDS?

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Service the LP12 and rebuild the cartridge ,having had several CDS’s and no one could compete with an LP12.
A very good upgrade for your LP12 is a Lingo and a Ekos 2 arm,Naim Prefix phonostage.

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The 52 is a wonderful preamp. I had one for a short spell after having an 82 for a fair few years.

Your LP12 is very nice as it is and some prefer the pre Cirkus, valhalla style. What cartridge and phono stage are you using? You may want to start with a service and some dealer recommendations.

It’s a case of whether you want the modern Linn sound or the slightly fuzzy warmer sound of old which your CDS1 is more like.

Incidentally I have had 2 x CDS2s, very nice but ultimately unserviceable by Naim nowadays.

With the LP12 I would consider the following upgrades:

Tonearm: used Ekos 2 is very worthwwhile. I had one of these, now have Ekos SE. Your current tonearm, depending on condition should be pretty good.

Power Supply: Lingo 1, 2, 3 or 4 or Radikal (version 1 or 2). I have had a Lingo 1 which was very good. Now have the Klimax Radikal 2.

Bearing: Karousel. I also had Cirkus and pre Cirkus.

Chassis: Kore or Keel

You may get most benefit getting the bearing upgraded.

The order I did the upgrades was this:

Valhalla to Lingo 1.
Goldring carts
Tonearm Akito repaired, new bearings, rewired.
Kore and Cirkus
Dynavector cart 10x5
Karousel, Trampolin 2
Ekos 2 and Tom Evans The Groove MRX+ phonostage, Dynavector XX2MkII cart.

At this point my turntable sounded sublime.

Klimax Radikal, Ekos SE, Linn Kandid, Keel, Urika phonostage.
New top plate, platter and walnut fluted plinth.

So, I have done most upgrades to the LP12. The biggest upgrade was changing from Akito to Ekos 2 and Dynavector XX2MkII and Tom Evans phonostage. But I had already done quite a few by this stage.

If on a budget I would do the following: Service, Lingo 1 and Karousel and potentially better cart and phonostage.

Good luck!

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So true, refurbish slightly and keep that classic, or totally rebuild it / buy a new one. Something to ponder beforehand, including budget.

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Congrats J. I also love my 52 pre. It might not be as “ accurate” or “resolved” as many other amps but it binds information together having a rare level of coherence. To me it is the spiritual ancestor to the S1 getting to the soul of the music. Don’t underestimate the K or S phono board option either. With a well set up LP12/ Ittok and a nice MC you should be very happy👍

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First thing I’d do is get rid of that Liberty Bell (sorry, stamped steel subchasis) for a Magic or Kore subchassis with a Karousel bearing. Keep the Ittok and the Troika and upgrade the P/S as funds permit (anything up to a Lingo 4).

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Yes well that is the (eventually) almost total rebuilding choice. In which case might as well buy a new Majik with a Minos psu for starters, or a preloved Selekt.

All these modern upgrades will fundamentally alter the deck (like you I would say not in a bad way, but anyhow different) and all the upgrades do add up financially since you basically only keep the plinth, top plate, platter and lid.

Another option is keeping the LP12 as a classic and refurbish/service what needs done:

  • send Ittok to Paul Bird for service and rewire
  • replace tonearm cable with grey T-Kable
  • find a Lingo 1 or 2 and send it to Class A for service and Naim filter mod
  • clean and oil the plinth
  • get a new Solid Base with new feet
  • have deck rebuilt with these parts by LP12 specialist
  • and have suspension, motor, felt mat, belt, the service parts replaced

That’s already a full job as you can see. An intermediate option is to modernise more than the base plate and tonearm cable and also renew the subchassis (preloved Majik will do nicely) with either a preloved Cirkus or a new Karousel bearing. By then it is already becoming a different deck though, and you might then go further forward, or aim higher from the start.

New, hybrid and classic are all valid options of course, just wanted to show the different possible routes before just throwing upgrades at it. Service never hurts, neither do demos.

Perhaps stop by at a dealer to listen to today’s LP12 versions first, see if they rock your boat.

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Keep it original Pre Cirkus and go for a Lingo 1 send it to Class A to remove the mains filter.

If you want the newer bearings etc,it’s better to buy a newer LP12,but keep the Pre Cirkus LP12
it got advantage in how fun it is to listen to music,the newer ones sounds stiffer.

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It’s all personal preference. A Lingo 1 with unfiltered mains serviced by Darran @ Class A really is a bargain and very good power supply.

The Ekos 2 is a great tonearm and will make a big difference.

If you want the old slightly fuzzy style to match the stunning 52 and CDS1 then maybe not doing all the new upgrades such as Kore, Keel, Karousel or Cirkus is how you want things.

I went all in and changed everything out.

Like I say the sweet spot for me was when I had Ekos 2, Dynavector XX2 MkII, Kore, Karousel, Lingo 1, Trampolin 2. And that can be built for reasonable funds. I had a fantastic Tom Evans high end phonostage too which made a big difference, with the high end power supply.

What I have ended up with cost me a whole lot more for more refinement and detail. Is it better? Not necessarily for 52 set up.

You really have to listen if you can to a dealer such as @Cymbiosis who has a full range of LP12s you can listen to with the different upgrades.

The beauty of the LP12 is you can do these upgrades gradually and decide whether to stick or twist and then go bust! :rofl:

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The obvious upgrade is the pre circus. Take care though. The newer bearings will make your LP12 sound more clinical. I like that but you may not. Get to a top Linn dealer and see if you can hear this yourself.

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If you want an LP12 to complement your CDS then probably look at a similar period pre-Cirkus Armageddon Sondek with Aro and rebuilt Troika. You could even try to get hold of some extra CDS feet, which are great on the Sondek Armageddon. If running without a baseboard then you just need to cut some small corner pieces to ensure the feet sit properly.

For the Prefix, I would recommend a Supercap for the full effect…

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I have always been happy with internal boards of my 82 and 52.

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I’m sure , because the internal boards are good. However, a Prefix powered by a Supercap is something else, and if you’ve never tried it and can afford it, then I would recommend it to you. It’s a bit like The Who - it’s Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.

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:flushed_face:

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Matron!

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Hi @Igel , as always thanks a lot for sharing your experience! yeah after a few more days of run-in my LP12 is all fine, and earned a sound upgrades (cleaner, bodied sound, much better gripping etc) , sound great but I reckon PSU is the least I should do.

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Hi @Dan_M Thank you so much for the very helpful list! As always top and helpful! Now this is a complete of possible end-game upgrades. Do you think Karousel got the musicality (or even better) than pre-Cirkus? I’m very interested in the Linn route as you do, as I love what Ittok/Valhalla is doing to music. But just worrying if Ekos MK2+Lingo would sound a bit too clinical put in 52’s context, Thank you Dan!

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Cheers Cohen thanks a lot for your comments before it helped making this jump of faith! Yeah you are defo right I started this thread a bit too early indeed – the LP12 indeed sounds absolutely fine even without upgrades. And the 52 seems like putting 1-2 upgrades to the sound compare to my 32.5/HC. My Japanese pressings not sounding bright anymore.

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Thanks cooldaddy! Solid advices and make every sense. Very curious of what Karousel and Majik subchassis could do to the sound. I did have Cirkus but not a fan. Think I will go with the Lingo 1 route!

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Hi @Richard.Dane I’m also very interested in Ekos MK2/Lingo 1 route, but do you think it fits amplification of 52 like geddon/Aro? And would geddon sounding fine with Ittok?