Hi daddycool, thank you. No, it isn’t a special branch finish. It’s regular one from the 60 series in natural oak. I also love the neat looking of Isoblue. It can hide cable spaghetti well as well.
Love that plinth, just looks awesome.
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Thank you. It is a new made by Linn.
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All being well I’ll see it in the flesh next week when I meet up with my local dealer, I think that fluted walnut may be my choice of plinth for my LP12.
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It has taken me a good few days to do this but I have read every post on this thread, looked at every picture and tried to absorb as much information as I can so that I get my first LP12 as right as I possibly can, I do not foresee me going down the upgrade aisle with my shopping basket once I have my LP12 in situ, unless…
I have to say that the thread has been absolutely brilliant, a thoroughly enjoyable read, you LP12 owners are an enthusiastic bunch, I can see just how proud you are of your LP12’s and the interaction you have with it, the lengths that you go to to get that last bit of detail from the grooves is astonishing.
There are some truly wonderful LP12’s out there, I would hate to contemplate just how much some of you have spent on your systems but I have cameras and lenses that are worth a few 000’s so know how easily it is to spend money on something you get enjoyment from.
If I have to raise an issue it is the lack of ‘new’ LP12 owners on the thread, I didn’t see many ‘Majik’ level LP12’s and saw probably less than a handful of mentions for the Krane set-up Majik. I presume that people buying into the LP12 range at this level may not have Naim gear or be racing to join this thread and post images.
Questions and thoughts;
If people go back to their first LP12, before any upgrades were sought, bought and applied, how does the basic Majik of today compare to the off the shelf LP12’s of decades past?
Where does the new Krane tonearm sit in comparison with other Linn tone arms, is it a stick with it tonearm or upgrade it to something else in due course tonearm?
That nice Peter Swain has put together a proposed LP12 for me comprising of a new plinth, bearing and other bits that come in Linn’s £2100 ish build your own box, Peter has then combined a mix of parts to complete the build. But somewhere is a little nag (wife) who thinks that my money would be better spent on a fully new Majik LP12.
Whilst I am happy with the idea of Peter building me that LP12, my little nag is going to have a say in how our money is going to be spent, I am certainly not going to be able to sneak an LP12 past her and into my listening room without her noticing so having her buy-in on this purchase is going to be needed.
This will be my last turntable, I have no plans to buy another so for me the LP12 is it, other than the previously mentioned external power supply I don’t really want to add much to it, but if something comes along that will dramatically improve the turntable then I am happy to consider it subject to it being financially viable.
So to the LP12 users on here which direction would you go in my situation.
Apologies for the length of the post.
Thanks.
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A very interesting post, and I can only give you my opinion in the knowledge that there is no single path of wisdom here.
First of all kudos when you’ve indeed gone through all 4132 previous posts! And yet there is also LP12 knowledge and experience locked in several other topics.
I once posted this for @Mike_S everyone deserves their own clean sheet new LP12 perhaps it helps.
The only thing that is not right with a brand new Majik LP12 is its one-speed very basic power supply. That is easily corrected with the Minos board by Valhalla Electronics. It’s a £250 product that Cymbiosis themselves list on their website, as it is so obviously a sensible better starting point. This means they can install it for you at purchase (so with trade-in of the Majik psu at the same time).
Focus on selecting your plinth of preference and take it from there. Use the Majik LP12 for a a good while as is, and then see if you want to move up. This is all part of the LP12 experience in my opinion, good luck on your way forward!
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Thanks, there is good advice in there for me to consider, I have just reread your other post and see exactly where you are coming from.
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Peter knows the LP12 inside out and from every angle so to have someone of his knowledge experience and access to the goods is paramount.
There are older but higher spec components that have not been surpassed but at their price have been left out of new Majik equation but being able to cherry pick the rest to a price is a real advantage.
You could and probably will have a much higher spec deck than Majik but not too much more than Majik price.
Everything in the deck is repairable and replaceable so the only bit you have to like to look at is the plinth and mine still looks new since 1987 but almost nothing else of that basic deck now remains. 
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Your deck is a youngster 
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My deck is now a Klimax at Kandid level one. 
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Thanks for this feedback.
Peter’s reputation goes before him, he clearly does know the LP12 inside out and back to front, and yes my build may be spec’d better than a new Majik but for the budget I have it means that some of the parts in his build are well respected as you mention but aged, I accept that compromise.
But what if as daddycool mentions I started with a brand new Majik and then as many of you did when you first had your LP12, listened and enjoyed my vinyl before deciding on an upgrade path.
This is my dilemma, accept the compromise or start with a clean slate.
How was your first LP12 put together, how long did you listen to that TT before you went down the upgrade path.
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@Oxfordian
Your welcome.
Well then I did buy mine brand new and the only parts remaining from that are my lid top plate and plinth and the cross brace or wiring strap.
It didn’t come with an arm because at that time you could buy a chassis set.
But I did upgrade my arm and cartridge about 9 months later. 
The fundamental part to start is the bearing then Power supply then arm and cartridge.
It really is that personal choice but I had no option all that time ago.
I did enjoy the journey but at considerable cost but managed to trade or move my previous bits.
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You did offer great advice there and all I’ve done is checked the set-up of the used LP12 and are enjoying it as it is, and it is very good.
I’m still not so keen on the value of the individual upgrades on an older setup. I think it’s easier buying a used setup at the specification you can afford and accept that it’s used, or starting with a clean slate with one of the package systems.
Hard to go wrong with a decent LP12 though.
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An interesting question. When I bought my LP12 second-hand in around 1980, it was approx 2 years old being manufactured in 1978. The first upgrade it had was the Nivarna upgrade, which I did myself in 1981 shortly after it was released. It took me a full weekend, an experienced LP12 person would have done it in a few hours. A couple of years later the Valhalla upgrade arrived, which I duly fitted. However, back then Linn only sold one spec of deck, when they upgraded this spec, the released an upgrade kit as well.
It was much later that Linn started selling LP12s at different spec levels, I think this was around the time the first Lingo was released in 1990 or so.
As with @Skeptikal very little of my original deck survives. Plinth, top plate, smoked acrylic lid and of course the box it came in, though that is a bit battered now.
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If it’s any help, you can also start with a clean slate now and start compromising (pre-loved instead of brand new upgrade items) later 
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Excellent advice so far. FWIW, I started out with a used LP12 and took what I could get/afford at the time and have upgraded from there. Would have been easier with Peter’s help, but I am in the US.
The thing that is unknown (I think) is where you want to end up. There are two schools of thought. First, if you know where you want to get and can afford it, go there immediately as it will save money in the long run. Or, if you enjoy seeing what each change does and maybe get that dopamine hit from each improvement, start with Majik and go incremental. Of course you might decide that Majik is a great end point, then you are done.
In your shoes, I would rely on Peter, but I would want to pick the plinth and to get Karousel and Kore. Though focusing on subchassis over PS violates Linn hierarchy of bearing, PS, subchassis in that order, my rationale is that the structural foundation is done (because I don’t see going beyond the Kore). Then I would let budget and destination be my guide. Minos and Krane would be great starting point though Cymbiosis has an ex-dem Akito 2B on their site. Kind of a hybrid approach.
If I needed convincing of a “Cymbiosis build” vs buying new, I would remind myself that buying used from him isn’t like buying used from some random person on eBay, whatever he sells will have Cymbiosis’s warranty, and he will be able to fix any issues.
And if you need buy-in from your wife, the plinth might be a great place to get advice - or to turn over the decision.
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She will definitely get involved, have her say, then tell me it’s my decision, and then tell me afterwards that something else was better.
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This approach is very sound advice chris_s
Peter Swain is the world guru on building and setting up Linn Sondeks
Cannot go wrong there at all - he probably will be able to assemble a Linn from a few significant parts he has in stock and the SQ may well sit above the Majik as a starter
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Here its starts getting more difficult already, because I have different ears and priorities and, respectfully, would make different choices in the individual components and combinations thereof.
Where I absolutely do agree is your good fortune of Cymbiosis as the dealer involved. He has a demo room unlike anyone else, where you can actually see & hear all the different combinations in action.
That is, only if you’re interested in SondekOlogy (LP12 studies?) which your going through this entire topic might suggest. All the possibilities and choices will give you food for thought and it depends on whether you find that pleasing. If not, Majik LP12 (with Minos or Lingo 4)…is the “neutral” start.
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The best strategy here is to have a “phantom choice” that looks worse and is more expensive than the one you actually want but say it’s the one you want. You then ompromise to get what was really your preferred choice 
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