I too have thought about getting a NAIA and putting an ND7 on it until spring for an MC cart/Aura!
1 Like
Not for he first time, @Dan_M has I think hit the nail on the head. You can make turntable selection as exacting or as relaxed, and as quick or as long as you like. Avoiding the rabbit hole is important - all this is meant to be fun and to serve a simple purpose after all.
If I were shopping today and was considering spending anything like the cost of a new Rega Naia, or probably even a P10, the list of turnable makes that I would seriously consider would probably include all of these: -
Acoustic Signature
AMG
Avid
Brinkmann
Clearaudio
Kuzma
Linn
Michell
Nottingham Analogue
Origin Live
Raven
Rega
SME
Technics
Thales
Thrax
TW Acustic
Vertere
VPI
Well-Tempered
That’s 20 names. Without extensive A/B testing, you could always be worrying if one of the others might have been 1% better than whatever you buy. Worse, I don’t think any dealer carries more than 4 of those brands, and many good ones have just 2. You could do the lot in 10 dealers in or near London, or you could hear more than 10 in ‘just’ 4 cities withot having to venture that far.
If you would find that workable without your ears overfilling and just stopping telling to anything, and without getting sick of DSOTM, Time Out, Graceland, Red, Carmina Burana or whatever your preferred test pieces are, and without giving up on the whole business because the logistics drive you potty, well done - most of us lack your endurance.
Given that, I think that your starting pont is about right - pick perhaps 4 or 5 candidates tat you couldl live with visually and practically and give them a good listen. Then Don’t Buy Anything - just let your brain and ears decompress a bit. And then talk budgets/ ex-dem opportunities (and building opportunities if talking Linn) with 1 or 2 dealers.
Shortly afterwards, you will have a turntable that will sound wonderful to you (and to just about everyone else) and will probably still be with you, playing music that you like brilliantly, in a decade or more.
Good luck!
2 Likes
He’s been whittling down options to 3/4, now you’ve given him 20 brands to think about! 
1 Like
I think we are at the point of overthinking this. You responded most emotionally to the music delivered by the Linn. Time to get off the fence?
I too used to be indecisive but now I’m not so sure….
5 Likes
Nick, going to 10 dealers up and down the country to look at 20 turntable makes and their different models sounds crazy. And then worrying which is best!
Hilarious advice!
For me I knew I wanted an LP12. Job done. Have never looked back.
For @YetiZone it seems to be between 2 makes. Another listen of Rega and Linn’s offerings should suffice. Then go for one he likes best.
Simple!
4 Likes
I think that was rather the point. Instead of spending 2 years painstakingly reviewing all plausible options (and I only mentioned 20), get the turntable that made music speak to you really well - and spend the two years listening to music, not hifi.
1 Like
@Dan_M Great advice Dan. It is supposed to be fun, and at this level you’re correct, all the turntables are superb. I’m going to relax more into the process now, hopefully!
@Adrian-Glasgow Nail on head. And the only reason why I haven’t already bought the P10.
@snarfy So its not just me then! You know, I bet a Naia / ND7 would still sound fabulous too.
@NickofWimbledon If I lived nearer to dealers that stocked other manufactures then I would have expanded my shortlist, but realistically, it’s the Rega or Linn for me. If in budget I would have travelled for the Kuzma Stabi-R as I thought it sounded amazing, and is expandable to a point (arms and carts).
I have more demos booked soon… And good advice not to buy then and there, taking stock and then deciding.
Thanks all.
5 Likes
Reading all this does make me wonder how many of us choose Hi-Fi components purely based on sound quality? For instance when I decide to buy a new car, I know which one I’d like beforehand. The thought of test driving many different cars just never comes up. Conversely I’ve never felt the urge to sit for hours in dealers comparing different products. I’ve always known what I wanted beforehand. I’ve never been disappointed. So far……
2 Likes
So Dan, honestly what aspects do you think are not quite so good on LP12?
I love the look, the upgrade path can be an attractive or a lead weight depending on your view, they seem a project, rather than plug and play. There’s LP12’s and there’s LP12’s… all depends on spec
Are Linn good for support?
I think each product has potential drawbacks, and really valuable in advice seeking is to hear first hand experience of what’s great and not so great.
1 Like
I was happy to also consider usability and looks, as well as pride of ownership. I loved the Gyrodec I auditioned, but found cueing and changing records so much easier on the Technics I eventually decided on. Likewise an Origin Live Aurora, lovely sounding deck, but again the Technics is so much easier to use. The Gyrodec looks fabulous though, in a different way to the Technics. Origin Live, particularly their arms, are utterly fabulous too.
I actually didn’t want a Rega or a Linn regardless of SQ, even though I really appreciate their decks, and think the LP12 is almost the dictionary definition of a turntable!
So yes, personally I buy for a variety of reasons, and at the budget point implied in this thread, which I think is similar to the one I had when I bought my 1200, and as hinted at by the OP, I doubt there are bad options sound quality wise anyway 
2 Likes
Musings is a very appropriate word. I have just been through the same cycle - I had never owned a Rega or a Linn record player and had the toss up between the LP12 Majik and the RP 10. I chose the RP 10 (with Apheta 3) over the LP 12. I know many will disagree on my decision process but I do not want the aggravation of being dependent on my dealer for set up and post set up etc that I would have had with the Linn. I live in Germany (and may be this is wrong) but I generally don’t think dealers outside the UK are as good as they do not receive the same level of training, love and care from the manufacturer and I won’t get the same level of customer care. I would certainly say this judging by my experience with Naim where any issue I have had is demoted to some European service centre which does not have the expertise of Salisbury and any manufacturer offer is limited to UK only. The RP 10 took 10 minutes to set up and sounds amazing - more detailed than the LP12 but less warm (or coloured depending on your point of view). I also got a great price (thanks to the Naia demoting the RP 10) meaning the RP 10 with Apheta 3 was pretty much the same price as the LP12 Majik. I also have a lot of 45 rpm records and don’t want to use an adapter to change speed. This should be electronic at this price. I don’t want anymore upgrade rabbit holes. Yes, I will need to buy an Aura at some point but that is it. I love the sound. I would say though that judging by your post, you should buy the LP12 - if you think it is more musical then you will always feel disappointed with the RP 10. Buyers remorse at these prices is not a good feeling.
1 Like
In 8 years of LP12 ownership, now is first time I have had anything sent back to Linn. The Ekos SE has a fault and Linn are repairing it.
So my first tonearm the Akito was rebuilt by Johnnie7 at Audio Origami. When I bought the LP12 the bearings needed replacing. This was an expensive repair.
So problems with 2 tonearms over 8 years. The deck has been upgraded 3 times over that period. I haven’t had any other issues.
It was my decision to carry out upgrades.
The sweet spot for money was when I had Ekos 2 used, Karousel, Kore, Trampolin 2 and Lingo 1.
I could have happily stayed there. Linn has a wide network of skilled dealers throughout the UK. My local dealers have helped me out with the LP12. They have fitted used parts I have provided. Hopefully, this gives a flavour for the LP12 in terms of service and upgrades.
In terms of sound I have listened to other turntables and there is something special for me about the Linn LP12. Maybe Rega offer better value for money, and are technically excellent. I prefer the more forward preaentation of my LP12 versus the Naia.
If you buy an LP12 then I would buy used. I think an Ekos 2 or Aro represents better value for money than the Arko found on the new Selekt LP12. Also a used Radikal 2 would be better value than a new Lingo 4.
Some may prefer all new with warranties, and I get that 100%.
For me the downside of Linn ownership is that the top upgrades are extremely expensive. A Naia in many ways is easier on the wallet and very close to LP12 Klimax in sound quality.
Even a mix of new and used parts my LP12 has set be back around £16k. That includes cart and phonostage.
If budget is there the spec I would go for used would be:
Tonearm Ekos 2 with Dynavector XX2Mk11 cart
Kore sub chassis, Karousel bearing
Akurate Radikal 2 power supply with Urika 1 phonostage.
This would be just below Klimax level and better than a new Selekt for less money.
Alot of Linn dealers will recommend the Radikal 2 above tonearm and chassis upgrades. For me I found that tonearm and cart and subchassis makes a big difference even with a Lingo 1.
5 Likes
Absolutely not. I don’t think the sound quality is the only thing that matters at all. You don’t turn off your other senses when you have a listening session. And listening to music is a deeply emotional experience. So the room you are in, how it looks, the look of the hifi and how it makes you feel to interact with it, are all important parts of the whole experience. The music has to work so much harder if you are in a room you think looks awful, using hifi that’s made of shocking pink rubber, while being hungry and too cold.
Everything should be selected to put you at ease. … Or whatever frame of mind you prefer for the session. Some might need their wife to come in dressed like Ozzy Osbourne and bite the head off the hamster to get them primed. But either way, emotional state is important.
And for a turntable it gets more important. You absolutely have to interact with it. What’s the tactile experience like? Does it give you the warm and fuzzies to use? I think those are really critical and for me they have to pull at nostalgia strings from my childhood in some way. Both of my decks do.
Similarly, I’m holding out for the next range of Naim gear that doesn’t look anything like the current New Classics. Seeing them in person and touching them didn’t alter my feeling towards the design sadly.
[postscript] though I’m okay with the rear panel 
7 Likes
That works for some FZ, remember @Keltik’s picture from just after Christmas 
2 Likes
We all have play days. Give him a break
1 Like
So I recall (hopefully not incorrectly?) you have a technics TT?
If correct, what drew you to that model?
Believe me I would not set my system up exposed like that if it did not benefit me in the ways that are important to me.
There is is another angle ( the naca5) that might put you over the edge .
At the end of the day I can’t get the equipment sighted the way that is acceptable to me without the cables touching ,being stressed , and the importance of a system like this of not making an incorrect connection and blowing something .
I’m experiencing my most glorious reproduction ever and when I close my eyes and lay back I really don’t give a …
3 Likes
I have a couple. A TEAC TN-4D and Technica SL1200GR. Both direct drive.
Functionally I wanted the simplicity of use and maintenance of direct drive. But other factors played in. The TEAC looks like it’s from the 70s when in walnut. It has a beutiful feel to using it. It’s the turntable equivalent of the smell of coffee and eggs frying on Sunday morning.
The Technics, well I’d had a SL-D2 as a kid and slung it. When I worked in hifi retail in the UK in the 90s I was sort of taught to look down on direct drive and definitely to give wide birth to the townies that wanted their 1200s do “do some wicked mixin’ innit”. The only problem was, I was exposed to a maxed out LP12 for years and it never really got on with me visually or sonically. To the point I thought vinyl was behind me. But like speakers, turntables are highly personal and when I demoed an SL1200GR a few years back, I knew that was the sound I’d been missing. Plus it looked a bit like my childhood. The strobe, the pitch control, the rubber mat. I’ll update this with a quote when I find it…
4 Likes
Brilliant thanks
I had always hankered after an LP12 after hearing it in the early 80’s (with a 42/110 and Heybrook HB1’s) but had never got to the point where I could really justify it. I bought a Linn Axis on the back of a bonus from work in the early 90’s and that remained with me. A few years ago I decided to scratch the itch but without breaking the bank as streaming is very much the primary source. Following advice from here I contacted Cymbiosis and from a (large) range of options selected a used Cirkus spec LP12 which was upgraded with a Karousel. A Mose Hercules provides the drive and the old Axis gave up it’s Linn Basik+ arm and lid to the cause. An AT95SH cartridge completed the package. Very happy with it, it doesnt disgrace itself against the NDAC streaming source and has minimal surface noise (especially after cleaning the records on the excellent Project record cleaner). I would thoroughly recommend this approach to anyone who wants a decent LP12 but optimised to a budget.
5 Likes