Hello! I know there are older topics on Rega vs Linn, but most were before the P10 replaced the RP10, and I have a different setup than others seemed to have. I currently have an old Nottingham Horizon SE, which I love, but I already replaced a motor in it a few years ago, and I want to upgrade. Right now I am very happy with the rest of my system. Relevant parts of it:
Harbeth Compact 7s on Skylan stands and resonant woods ball feet. Listening room is mostly wooden floor but a carpet is between the system and my listening position.
Naim Nait XS (the original!) recently recapped
Project Tube Box SE II with 2 Electro-Harmonix 12ax7s (this particular pair from my Uncle are extra-reinforced or something so they sound particularly good)
I have an Ortofon Black MM on my turntable and would be happy to keep that, but I donāt have to.
Those wonāt change for now. I am only interested in adding a new turntable/cart. I think the following turntables are in a similar-ish price range and they are what I am consideringā¦
Rega P10 (or P8 if I want to save $)
Linn Majik (fitted with Addikt MM cart by the dealer)
Well Tempered Versalex (or Amadeus Jr)
I am hearing the Rega and the Linn later this coming week in Dallas (at Audio Concepts), with Naim amplification, but with ProAc speakers instead of Harbethās. Closer to my home in Austin, a dealer (Whetstone Audio, who used to sell Harbeth and Naim) has Well-Tempered and I hope he has a Versalex on the floor I can hear.
What sonic differences am I likely to hear between those (particularly for classical and hard bop jazz)? Has anyone heard them with Naim amplification and Harbeths?
Main thing Iād say is that the Majik is not a particularly good value combo due to the rather poor (IMO) power supply it comes with. The Adikt is also too expensive for what you get, though as part of that package itās kinda āfreeā.
Check if Mark at Audio Concepts can hook you up with an Hercules or (even better) older Lingo. While itās typically hard to get used parts from dealers in the States, he is one of the few that might have some (a friend got a Lingo 1 from him two years ago).
I would also encourage you to try one of the AT VM MM cartridges instead.
As an owner of a P10 one thing I will say is that it punches well above its weight and scales very well.
Based on your set-up if you indeed have no desire to upgrade for the foreseeable future I would stick with the P8. Whereas on a higher-end system, especially when fed high-performing non-Rega MC cartridges the P10 is stunning.
Iāve had a modern Majik LP12 and P10 in the same system using vintage Naim amps but not at the same time. Also had a 1980s Valhalla/Ittok deck too. I think the Rega is excellent and to my ears offers better dynamics, stability, and clarity than the Majik deck. It probably beats a Selekt LP12 at this too, but just a hunch. What might be less obvious is that (in my experience), any LP12 will make better sense of the music, so just try to keep an ear out for that side as well.
However, weāre all uniquely wired up to some degree and perhaps youāll hear things differently so looking forward to reading your own impressions.
The biggest question is do you have/play any vinyl at 45rpm? If so you will need to factor in the cost of a power supply for the LP12 as the Majik is 33.3 only.
I am ending this year owning an ex-demo Selekt LP12, I got it 2 years old for the price of a new Majik plus lingo, I did audition the P8 and P10 and whilst they are excellent I couldnāt get past their looks, so went with the ex-demo LP12.
Have fun auditioning the decks and Iām sure youāll enjoy the music which ever direction you go.
Well. I A/Bd the Rega P10 and the Linn Majik LP12 and felt that the p10 was transparent and had more detail especially in the higher registers.
The LP12 had more bottom end and seemed to colour the music more. Lacking for me in the detail at the top end. A higher spec LP12 evened this out but was out of my price range when bought new.
Overall I preferred the P10. Iām still to try the Avid diva ii and Iāve seen an SME 10 with 309 Tonearm that Iād like to try.
And the comment above re 45rpm vinyl is a big deal and a lot of extra money to simply achieve with the Linn
Doesnāt the Linn come with a 45rpm adaptor? At least thereās an official one available for sale separately. Itās a hassle to use I guess, but not a deal breaker if you want a Majik LP12 and have 45s
Itās not a lot of money to achieve - a Hercules is what, 250 quid? It would also be a massive upgrade on the Majik PSU for 33rpm.
Thatās why I just donāt think a Majik deck makes much sense, and in general why Iād encourage folks to work with a good LP12 dealer to build a deck at their price point rather go with one of Linnās standard offerings (which are put together by parts anyway, with them just picking the equivalent tier for each of them).
It is true the P8 is probably a better match for my system. I may not be able to get the most out of my P10 with what I have. Down the road I might get a Supernait, in which case the P10 would be a good purchase.
Thank you for your thoughts! I will give my impressions after listening to the different turntables. Reviewers at the magazines/websites seem disappointed in the majik compared to the much higher priced options, and many mentioned the differences you pointed out, so I am eager to see what the turntables do with my test records.
Moving from my Neo driven Rega P3 with its push button speed change to a Majik LP12 and an adapter just didnāt appeal. So a Lingoād LP12 was a must.
But and it is a big but, it does help if the numpty who owns the LP12 and Lingo remembers to get the green light shining when playing 45ās, otherwise they sound pretty naff.
At the last Rega vs. Linn side-by-side I attended, the Linn really blew the Rega out of the water. It was P10/Aphelion2/Aura vs. Klimax. I think the Klimax retails for 2x of the Rega but IMHO is sounded much better than twice better.
I have a bit of a bias; Iāve own the P8 and P10 and found both to be too analytical for my tastes. Others enjoy that style of replay however. But for me I was not listening to my records because I did not enjoy the sound.
Ok, everybody, I had the demo today. What they set up for me: Rega P8 vs Linn Majik LP12 (with the MM cart). They didnāt have a P10 on hand. They kept everything else the same so one could have an A-B comparison: Pro-ac speakers but donāt know the model (I prefer my Harbeth C7s for sure), Naim Supernait (now I want one of those, will definitely get one down the road to replace my XS), and a Rega phonostage.
Hearing my brotherās P5 over the years, and the P8 in the store today, Rega tables sound fast, and very forward, and the depth of the stage was a little more. In other words, on most recordings it was more obvious which instruments were in the back and which were toward the front.
I favor the Linn by a lot, though, overall. It is a blacker background, warmer, more laid back, much more musically involving and less fatiguing, timbres are more accurate (very important to me), note attack and decay and space around the notes was better. I was able to hear the orchestra hall or studio better. It was most obvious on harder to reproduce stuff, like classical music especially with full orchestra, and jazz with a lot going on. Audio Concepts has a deal through January right now where if you turn in any turntable whether it works or not (my Nottingham Horizon SE that still works in my case), you get $1000 off the table and cart package. Sometime in January I will go back and hear it with the MC, which is apparently a lot better for only $200 more, and then likely order it (assuming the wife can come along and approves ha ha). They have been a Linn dealer for 40 years and service the tables themselves, and they can hook me up with good used power supplies and what not to do upgrades over the years. I think I can be very happy with it for many years to come. I can now see why some people are way into the Naim/Linn combo. I think that will go great with my Harbeths.
Thanks for coming back to the forum Onip. Very interesting.
Musically, I preferred the Adikt to the Koil (on the same deck) but I seem to be more of an MM person, except for expensive MCs like Linnās $3k Akiva which were wonderful while they lasted. In additional to the Koil, Iāve also had a late-Klyde (much better than early ones) and three Kyrstals and canāt say I really miss any of them, except for clarity.
As @ricsimas said at the beginning, the first obvious upgrade if/when you have funds is the motor/controller. In which case, Iād be asking my dealer if they have a second hand/ex-demo Lingo 4 or old Lingo 1/2 thatās been serviced using Linn-supplied components.
Donāt forget the Trampolin 2 ($300) if itās going on a heavy support like a sideboard or equipment rack. The alternative is a very lightweight support like the traditional Ikea āLackā coffee table which costs just a few dollars - can find them on ebay if Ikea donāt deliver to you. Hereās a couple of mine:
It is a fair comparison, a Rega TT with a Rega Cart v a Linn TT and a Linn Cart, that is the same route I took when doing my auditions, I wanted to see what the differences were and whilst the Rega was very good the Linn was excellent, at least it was to my ears.
I played the same tracks on both systems through the same amps and speakers this gave me an assessment of the respective systems. There is no doubt that Regaās P8/P10 are extremely capable decks and excellent choices for many people.
If you are going to compare two items from different brands then you need items that are fixed, in my case amplification and speakers, then you listen to set-up 1 and then set-up 2, and maybe do this a number of times.
There is no need to have the cartridge the same in each system as the cartridge isnāt a fixed item, in my case I was comparing Rega v Linn, the P8 had an Anja Pro and the Linn the Koil. Why would I put the Anja Pro on the Linn or the Koil on the P8.
It was a totally valid audition for each system, which sound did I prefer, totally fair and balanced.
