hi everyone,
I recently bought a used sondek linn: fluted plinth / precirkus / valhalla / akito.
immediately after i bought a cirkus from a friend who upgraded the Karousuel and since i need the 45 rpm i bought also a Hercules (from LP12bits)
aesthetically the turntable is in amazing condition, I would say like new, I cleaned the plinth well, polished the dustcover a little.
I installed the hercules and the brand new belt but the engine is struggling to start and to reach the revs so much that I have to help it with a little push otherwise the engine seems to be under strain and emits a noise until it reaches speed.
I know it needs a service, in fact I will soon entrust it to Antonio Trebbi (our Peter Swain in Italy) but I would like to understand if it depends on the hercules or is the engine that is abandoning me.
I would also like to know if you have any advice for cleaning the top plate from the stains that usually leave fingerprints.
On the Linn website, under support is a link to Linn docs. The turntable maintenance sheet says a barely damp cloth.
Back in the days when there were Linn Kliniks and factory engineers would service and upgrade at the local dealer, the lid, top plate and belt were cleaned with Pledge spray polish and a yellow duster.
I have seen baby oil and gun oil suggested, then went looking at the Peter Swain setup guides, couldn’t find anything.
Peter Swain cleaned my top plate using some gun oil- Austrian or German irrc- it comes up beautifully but even better is that is can then just be wiped with a soft cloth thereafter to keep its appearance
Good luck on your LP12 journey. It’s great fun- if somewhat expensive!
Enjoy your LP12, I have only had mine since 1981 or so, much of it has changed over the years, I think it is only the top plate, plinth and lid that are original now. A service will make all the difference and if you can get a good person to do it all the better, it seems that you do. I am fortunate that John at Audio-T in Brighton sets up a Linn as well as anyone and has been looking after mine for about 3 decades now.
the first item I would look at purchasing is a pair of cotton gloves and wear these when you are handeling our removing both the inner and outter platter
A clean slighty damp cloth to clean top plate, assuming this is the standard metal finish - look on the @Cymbiosis web site for set up and guides - Peter is a Zen master with LP12’s set up
as others have suggested service might be the order of the day but when I had my herc PSU the platter start up was slow so a little light help with the spin - the outter platter is a little bit of a beast
ok, thanks a lot to everyone. as for the hercules, it is normal that with the valhalla the plate started without pushing it and the engine did not emit any noise and now no?
“I have seen baby oil and gun oil suggested, then went looking at the Peter Swain setup guides, couldn’t find anything.”
It’s a brief guide to set-up and at 25,000 words and 100 pictures, I chose to stop there. I have written a transportation guide too now and it can be found in the same place. For cleaning the top plate I use a mixture of Servisol Foam Cleanser 30 first. Remove all residue until dry. Then followed by just a little Ballistol and use it sparingly and evenly. Ballistol also does a great job of hiding/reducing knocks, bumps and scrapes on the wooden plinths (not black as it’s a paint finish).
Just Google these two products to find sellers.
damn2k - Antonio Trebbi will be able to judge i the motor needs replacing when he services your LP12. IME replacing an old motor with the new 7E-050 motor will improve sound quality still further!
KR.
Peter
Peter, definitely not brief, a total labour of love. I cannot think of any other hobby or interest where it is possible to get so much help as in your guides.
I have this habit of retaining bits of information, but not where I found them, so having looked at what I saved and not finding the answer my first thought was your website.
Thank you for all you have done.
You’re welcome catswhiskers. As you may have noticed I published updated guides last November to incorporate quite a few new developments and go into a little bit more depth on some of the set-up details with more pictures. They kept me busy whilst working in the shop behind close doors due to the COVID regulations!
I have an LP12 which recently had a full professional service (belt, springs, grommets etc) and upgraded with Karousel bearing and Kore sub-chassis. I already had a Hercules replacement for the previous Valhalla power supply. As part of the service this was put into the external “Mose” enclosure (the Hercules won’t fit with the Karousel). The turntable starts up as quick as it did with the Valhalla, ie slowly! It has never needed a nudge or a push though, it takes about 5 seconds to get up to full rotational speed. Was everything fine with your previous power supply - presumably a Valhalla?