I wonder if I have been a Wally with Vinyl LP12 TT?

G’day, Ladies and Gentlemen,

With 20:20 hindsight I spent a small fortune on a Linn LP12 Acurtae for my XS system. I am now second-guessing myself if I should not have spent so much. I did get carried away and wanted to match my vinyl Naim dealers set-up. Though he has separtes in his amplification system.

Possibly I should have gone the way of a Linn LP 12 Majik and have purchased a Naim ND5 XS2?

May I ask for the forum for their opinions? I have a limited growing libarary of vinyl and my dear wife has put her foot down about purchasing anymore. I think I have completed my teenage and twenties music compiled in vinyl now. Though with the obvious clamp on any more vinyl or CDs possibly I should have gone a separte route. Though I must say I truly for new, old music at the age of 59, I do enjoy my old Dire Striats albums and the latest EvanEscence with the orchestral assembly. To hear Amy Lee’s voice amonst all the inetruments is wonderful.

Bach, conceratos and Handel Oriatos are my classical favourites, along with 80’s soft rock.

An old dog living in the past, and wondering about the future.

Warm regards and Happy Easter to one and all.

Mitch.

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Perhaps, but it sounds like you are enjoying your LP12 so why worry ?

Add an ND5XS2 later if needed, rip your CDs and store them elsewhere to free up space. Add a streaming service such as Qobuz and you’ll have all the music you’ll need.

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Thank you, James, Yes I am.

Warm regards,

Mitch.

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Sounds like you’re enjoying the music. You have a great LP12 by the sounds of it, so it is something that will be a joy to own with the music you already have. Back in the 80s your LP12 and Nait system would have been much revered and still should be👍

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I would say that vinyl is not the way to go unless you have a good access to good quality second hand vinyl. I do not buy new vinyl. That said i have a decent vinyl collection since 1980s with quite a lot added later on with charity shop purchases. The LP12 gets an occasional spin and is still very enjoyable, but not as much as CD and streaming with some internet radio. Again digital is fantastic and the convenience makes it a clear winner.
It’s not too late to look at the digital side again. I am so glad that i did not start until end of last year. Things have matured nicely since late 2000s it that department so a good time to get started…There were many frustrations and annoyances with products in the streaming area a few years ago which was a good reason to give it time to mature

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I think the ND5XS2 is a cracking bit of kit -it would enable internet access and R3 has a back catalogue of shows and concerts. Also you are lucky enough to have a CD5XS which has a digital output -

On the other hand I also suspect that your LP12 sounds superb - and the collection of vinyl you have built up is one to treasure .

I would cherish what you have and look to streaming technology to overcome the difficulties with the size of your LP collection

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A good source is always a benefit. Second-guessing purchases is something we all do now and again, one of those things that are not always very helpful, I have done it in the past, made a change and then regretted the change. If your system gives you pleasure when you listen to music, then I would leave it as is for now and add the streamer you want when funds allow.

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That’s a very good point as well, if you have a sizable CD collection. I do this with my old Marantz CD67SE and feed the digital output to the Auralic Altair G1. That way i can take a few CDs that i have not ripped to the Auralic internal SSD and play them. Much better than the analogue out if the Marantz.

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Mitch, you have not made a mistake with your purchase of the Linn. Enjoy what it does, and add a streamer when funds/circumstances allow.

Best,Al

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Happy Easter Mitch. An LP12 at that level will be an asset in any system. I would just enjoy your music.

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If it’s the money causing the issue don’t forget streaming isn’t free. Depending on the subscription level it’ll be a CD or LP a month equivalent.

If it’s the space the vinyl takes up then fair enough X)

You can only listen to so much music too. I’d rather have a small collection I love and listen to all the time than 3k LPs I’ll never listen to.

Lastly, what’s the worst that could result from this? You could sell the deck on, or part ex it with your dealer in exchange for a great sounding “budget” deck and a streamer. For whatever it is worth, I just directly compared my 27 year old Systemdek with a £3k Vertere DG-1. They both played great music! So I’m sure, after any initial shock, you’d be enjoying what a lower spec deck would sound like too.

I’m trying to suggest that no outcome is bad here! Keep your deck and enjoy your music! Or swap it out, and still enjoy your music 8)

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Personally Mitch

As others have said hold onto the LP12, it will give you years and years of pleasure and despite what the Mrs just buy the occasional LP when funds allow

Maybe you should look at selling off the cd5xs at some stage to commence funding for the nd5xs2 if that’s the way you wish to go mind you not sure the second hand market for the CD player , maybe $2k

Or if not happy sell the lot and just have the streamer

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Morning Mitch,

I don’t know if this helps but as a younger man I have sort of ‘fallen in love’ with the odd hi-fi dealer, and to some extent attempted to emulate their separates set. And I think falling in love is what we do with sales at this high price level. It’s not like popping round the corner for a newspaper, some milk, and four stubbies of VB.

But we are older men now, hopefully wiser.

This is all a rather long-winded way of saying enjoy your set, including your top flight Linn.

Best,
C.

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There is little value in the ‘maybe I should have…’ thing, which gets you nowhere. The Akurate is a truly lovely turntable that should make to happy for years. The Majik can’t play 45s without taking off the platter and fiddling with the belt, and has a pig ugly Clearaudio arm. Yuck.

I sometimes wonder if I went a bit potty getting a Rega Planar 10 but it sounds so wonderful and is such a nice little thing. Just enjoy your Linn with a happy heart.

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Is the descending foot because of the cost or the storeage space. I used to have records one side of the chimney breast, CDs on the other but there was an Oxfam shop locally specialising in music who were selling classical discs for £1 each or 10 for £5. I bought rather a lot from them while that deal was on, including quite a few test pressings and some just because I’d never heard of it. I soon ran out of space. Naim had just announced the Atom etc so it was a fair bet there’d be a replacement for the NDS (a player that didn’t quite convince) coming soon, so I ordered a Uniti Core, added a Rega DAC and Belken 4974R cable as a temporary measure and started ripping. It took a couple of months but I then had plenty of capacity for more vinyl. The CDs and player went to the flat my wife had inherited in France and got used maybe 2 weeks a year until we moved everything here as our response to Brexit, now they just sit there.

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I have that Clearaudio arm and it looks superb … in a Clearaudio TT

Funnily enough, I quite like the previous Pro-Ject arm on Pro-Ject TT

SME and Jelco also look good on Linns - but neither are now available now for Linn

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To me it just looks ugly, and the way the headshell bolts to the arm seems like poor design as by definition it cannot be rigid. But what do I know, and it certainly looks better on the Clearaudio than on a Linn. When I had a Linn it had an Ittok and then an Ekos, and finally an Aro. All of them look good on a Linn.

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Thx , have updated - I too went through a downsizing exercise and have a Nova , Witch Hat and Harbeth P3ESR .

On the list of arms that look good on the LP12 I missed out the Audio Origami P7 as an arm that looks good on Linn (and just about everything else)

Sorry, senior moment. I think you must have changed your avatar.

I did change my avatar about a month - it’s a sunflower (symbol of a certain country) and updated my profile to include the Nova

best wishes