Thanks. Hearing Russ Andrews’ name is a ‘blast from the past’! Mind you, so are 1 or 2 of those haircuts.
40 years is very impressive, even without trips in cars.
More good points here. I should also have asked how many have a different (perhaps vastly less resonant or flexible) plinth/top-plate/ baseboard, as that will change the benefits you describe.
You may also be touching on why some spent 20+ years with no baseboard at all, having compared sound with and without, and why some others found the first Trampolinn so non-ideal.
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For all my electronics tinkering abilities of yesteryear, I think I’ll leave tinkering with my precious LP12 to my dealer these days…
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I completely get that and agree. Really, you could conceivably upgrade/tweak/modify an LP12 until all of its weaknesses are addressed and it becomes almost flawless at extracting the music from the grooves. And then it would look something like this …
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One might question why?
We buy LP12’s because Linn have done such an excellent job of crafting a superb TT that has been the benchmark to which all major manufacturers measure their products.
They’re not ‘Perfect’ but then nothing can be, as we all have different perceptions and expectations.
Why would you want a Linn LP12 to sound like a Rega Naia? Just buy a Naia…
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So your interest in it is as a collector’s item more than maximum audible performance?
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My point exactly!
Which is why I’m not interested in a Rega, or making my LP12 sound like one. That said I know one very long term Linn dealer / LP12 guru whose jaw hit the floor when he got a NAIA in for dem use.
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Whether you ‘upgrade’ with Linn or 3rd party items the sound changes, if that is better to your ears then it’s all good.
What I can’t understand is posters stating that it loses the ‘Linn’ sound? Of course it’s different, but, the sound has changed over the years by Linn themselves 
As usual I’d love some to have ‘blind’ listening tests, and FGS don’t start bleating on about how blind tests aren’t a good way of testing 
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I am in the E category. I haven’t heard the change in person but have read online. I am uncertain about the effect on sound quality and it’s a non Linn modification which isn’t offered at dealers who I use to set up my LP12. If it was endorsed by dealers as a good upgrade and had some backing then I would more likely consider it. It seems to be a niche tweak and not really keen to change out springs for something that is for me questionable.
However, I am more interested in Tangerine Audio Stiletto and Skorpion upgrades. That makes sense as it brings the plinth more in line with Keel philosophy of solid aluminium. But the upgrades are extremely costly, which puts me off from doing them.
@NickofWimbledon you are very lucky man to have those upgrades done on a well specced out LP12 for £9k. It’s worth more than that IMHO.
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Hi Dan
I posted here about the Linn version.
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I saw that and it looks very interesting. I still think Linn will offer a version in due course. The Stiletto and Skorpion is very popular on here. I have heard one now and it’s a very very good.
Or there maybe a trickle down approach from LP12 50.
But so is my standard LP12 Klimax on my system. I would have to compare mine versus a Stiletto/Skorpion to really appreciate the differences. And even then it’s £6400 for the two undiscounted.
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I would be a “B” - didn’t notice any difference in the sound at all. But the lack of footfall annoyance now is an epiphany!
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Hi Dan
Thing is the Linn experiment was a good length of time ago and perhaps the hobby has become more accepting of large cost diminishing returns upgrades.
At the time nobody would expect to pay these sort of prices but I never thought I’d have an over 4K cartridge so maybe it’s not so out there.
But I’d have thought if Linn were interested in long term support for the deck they wouldn’t miss a trick.
Who knows.? 
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The LP12 50 will have trickle down technology potentially. Linn like offering customers upgrades and the plinth and top plate is one area they haven’t changed too much.
I can see them doing something and many would prefer all Linn rather than Tangerine Audio.
All speculation but Linn are quick to catch on to new upgrades as we both well know.
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That’s the wait and see.
There are aspects of the deck in its present form that many have wanted for some time but still they continue to use the steel top plate in itself I see as a fine tuning part of the instrument.
Trickle down from the LP12-50 is likely the plinth but it’s only composite wood material not solid timber but might be more stable perhaps.
I’ve heard all sorts of prices bandied about for it as an “ upgrade “ but in what form including what is a mystery.
It’s much more than Stiletto so might make the Jaffa look like a bargain.
Time will tell but I’m happy with my deck the way it is and have no wish to chase never ending rainbows.
I’m just happy my gear can be supported. 
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You’re right. I am happy with the LP12 Klimax as it is. It sounds sublime.
Chasing rainbows never works. I know that. You think you want one thing and then once you get it it’s not what you wanted.
Neverending journeys and dissatisfaction can result. Chasing the dream and once you think you have it…
Anyway, best thing is to be content with what you have.
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Ain’t that the truth.
Live in the now later comes too soon.
Take care. 
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You too Big Man! Always have utmost respect for you.
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Thanks Dan.
I have seen a second-hand Stiletto (not on an LP12) with its box that was on sale for a good while for about half price - I think it went for less. It looked mint and it’s not as if there is anything to wear out or mistreat. They are not a common s/h sight though.
I take the point about keeping the actual turntable all Linn too, though few of us do that with cartridges or where the signal goes. Otoh, if patience is rewarded and Linn offer their own Stiletto (or a demonstrably more neutral pseudo-wood plinth and ultra-solid top and bottom plates), I shudder to think what they would charge - I doubt it will be under-cutting Tangerine Audio prices!
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That’s another good point and clearly expresses what looks to be a common view. My answer may be different to other people’s, and of course it isn’t short…
For all my years of LP12 ownership, I have never been a properly loyal fanboy in the way that many have. When I play (say) The Trinity Sessions, my enjoyment increases the more that it sounds as if Margot Timmins is standing a few feet away from me in that little church.
I don’t prefer the sound of any turntable to what the master tape will have sounded like, and I don’t want anything to take music and Sondek it up a bit, if you see what I mean.
So why not go fully digital? To me, it’s because (at least on music well-recorded more than about 20+ years ago), listening to the digital version brings its own imperfections, and (if and when I eventually notice them) those annoy me more than any minor imperfections in the reproduction from my LP12.
There may be music recorded in the last decade (or more like 25 years for classical music) where the digital version similarly loses to vinyl on the Stiletto LP12, but I have yet to hear it, or even hear about it.
The same argument applies to other turntables. If they improve on the LP12 with better a compromise-mix, I would at least think about a change. When we compared high-spec Vertere and Brinkmann sources against my non-Stiletto LP12, both had enough strengths that I could have been made indecisive (and one listener preferred both overall) were it not for the huge cost difference.
Fortunately for me, those Brinkmann and Vertere advantages largely disappeared when I heard the Stiletto option. The same seemed to apply to the Naia, though that may well be a better VFM option than those two and was only heard in a non-ideal way that was not imho a good comparison.
Equally, some ask why get a metal box for my LP12 if Linn are not currently claiming that that works much better? I have listened for myself, and know what seems best. Also, I remember that most LP12 upgrades started as heresies to be decried at all costs. Eventually, what they sounded like won.
Does that make sense?
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