Show us your Sondek

Thank you for your good wishes, but I’m not feeling remotely sorry for myself. I just want to get back home and get on with life. It’s a precious thing, and we all owe it to ourselves to make the best of it. I’ve got lots of new LPs to listen to, lots of photos to take with the new cameras that I’ve bought, dear friends to meet up with again.

And so on. Let me back at them!

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Karousel/Keel/Ekos SE/Ekstatik/Klimax Radikal 2/Karmen top plate/SimPlinth in high gloss Indian rosewood. Had it 40 years and only 2 original parts are lid hinges and outer platter🤣



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Hello, Toon, that’s very classy, if I may say so. The Ekos looks very fine.

I love the high gloss plinth. (I thought that rosewood might be on an ‘endangered’ list, but I’m NOT accusing you of sanctions busting!)

What improvement do you find that the Karmen top plate brings?

There are some really good independent plinth makers around these days, leaving Linn’s own choices rather in the shade.

(I would have liked to get my hands on one of the 40 (?) plinths crafted from oak from Highland Park whisky barrels. I wonder how long the malt whisky aroma lingered?)

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Please add me to those saying it looks wonderful and asking for Karmen feedback.

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Rosewood is now protected worldwide.

Rosewood

The above only applies to finished musical instruments.

[Edited to reflect Iain’s clarification below.]

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That’s not very clear or helpful.

It appears to allow the continued use of rosewood that has been through manufacturing processes.

But it is silent about felling or using new rosewood timber.

(You beat me to it, sweet hippy.)

It is still permissible to use Rosewood (Brazilian excepted) but under section 2 of Cities the correct import / export permits must be used. It is perfectly legal to own, use and buy item made from rosewood. International travel is still ok and that was largely what was corrected in 2019 after the 2016 complete ban had some rather unintended consequences. Anybody who travels with instruments or trades in the should be fully aware of this.

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I had the same experience with the klyde and akiva

Felling and international shipping is regulated by permits, regardless of the use. Instruments got a specific exemption so permits are not required to transport finished instruments, but is does not mean that Rosewood is illegal. It really is quite clear. The only ban was free felling and shipping (trade) without a permit.

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That’s as clear as mud.

I find this quite clear.

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It didn’t. I was invited to the factory when they launched it. A ‘spare’ plinth was as passed around to which I held to my nose and ‘tested’ it. No whisky aroma at all, and the guy (forget who) said that they hadn’t thought of that. Brought a good laugh though!

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So what you’re saying is you have a fairly new LP12 with some old bits on it! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I’m so pleased to hear that the oak wasn’t suffused with Highland Park aroma (so I didn’t really miss out at all).

Did anyone ever say why Linn had chosen Highland Park barrels? (It’s quite an obscure malt. Maybe they were just going spare.)

In any event, I’m more than happy with the new Wenge plinth from Solid Sounds that was fitted to the LP12recently, and my son will be inheriting my 40 year old Linn Black Ash plinth.

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It really isn’t. Highland Park is one of the most popular single malts, and has won many awards.

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It’s not – Edrington (the owner, who also own The Macallan) produce more than 2.5 million litres of Highland Park a year. It is one of the world’s most-awarded and most popular single malts. It’s also one of the oldest, having been in production for 225 years!

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Indian rosewood was banned by CITES in 2017 but the ban was partly lifted in November 2019 although some rosewoods (such as Brazilian) are still banned. When I purchased the plinth I did check with the master carpenter who built it and all is well. ……here is the CITES ruling:

As of November 26 2019, CITES laws on rosewood have been lifted. Travelling with this wood no longer requires a permit. It means you can buy, sell and move freely with rosewood - even if it comprises over 10kg or 22lbs as stated by the previous ruling. Restrictions on the rarer Brazilian rosewood are still in place.

The Tangerine Audio Karmen top plate is a lot stiffer than the standard Linn version and provides a stronger bond with the plinth and chassis. I noticed a clear improvement after I had it fitted (which was 38 years after the original) especially in the lower frequencies.

Karmen is the premiere top plate package for the
Linn Sondek LP12 record player.

​Karmen is precision machined from solid aluminium. It includes bespoke fixings
​together with machined cross brace and is finished in natural silver and anodised.

HTH?

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