Show us your Sondek

I did wonder if Linn will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the LP12 next year with another collaboration with Highland Park and their 50 year old malt.

But at £20,000 per bottle I guess it’s unlikely :grinning:

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Pretty accurate I guess. Here’s how it started its life with me……

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I’m sure they’ll come up with new and innovative ways to try to part you from your hard-earned! :money_mouth_face:

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Six years older and 158 quid cheaper than mine (see post #2075). I bet it seemed a fortune in 1982!

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I don’t think it’s that obscure, though I do like a tipple or two :rofl:

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My wife’s favourite. Says it all. :wink:

My favourite malt was always Springbank, and the older, the better.

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I love Springbank. Many years ago I tasted a green coloured variety. Something to do with the casks it was matured in. Never seen it since. Not to be confused with Springbank Green (which is not green at all).

Highland Park is a tiny distillery on the Orkney main island. We visited on a cruise destined for Nprway. Our ship only 13,550 tons was too large to anchor at the quey, so you are taken in by tender: read lifeboats.
As part of the distillery tour you are taken into the drying room where raw materials are, well dried out!. No naked lights in case of a fire.
Some of the smaller islands are linked by causeways. There are signs saying not to cross in bad weather. Almost no trees due to the wind. Impressive cathedral, St Magnus in the capital Kirkwall.

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Yes, is Highland Park the only (surviving) distillery on Orkney, or has a comparatively new one opened recently?

I’ve never been there, but have visited Barra (Whisky Galore territory) three times. Fantastic little island, although scary as heck landing on the sandy beach at low tide, and no distillery.

I do miss having the occasional glass of malt, but I’m paying for my sins earlier in life!

Scapa’s still there, now owned by Pernod Ricard

Of course! I don’t recall ever trying that.

Me neither and it’s no newcomer either, I think the distillery was founded in 1855, 60-odd years later than HP and only half a mile away but as you rightly say, (relatively) unknown. Funny that one should be so well-known versus the other, particularly as Scapa’s owned by such a huge international company!

Here is my Sondek built to my budget by Peter at Cymbiosis 2 years ago.
To get me a Sondek within budget with best performance for the money Peter built me a Sondek from new and used parts. The Sondek itself is brand new, walnut plinth and karosel bearing. Sub chassis and motor are used. The arm is a very nice minty Ittok LVII and the cartridge is a brand new AT33EV moving coil. Power supply is a new remote mounted Hercules. Brand new mat and belt. This hybrid deck certainly sounds great and this level of Sondek is perfect for me and I can’t see myself wanting to make any future upgrades.


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“hybrid deck certainly sounds great and this level of Sondek is perfect for me and I can’t see myself wanting to make any future upgrades”.

That’s what they all say! :rofl: :wink:

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I know!!:grimacing:
I got the best I could for the money and now semi retired so no spare cash to blow on upgrades.

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I was of the same opinion (my deck is one of Peter’s "Frankenstein’s Monsters too), but then I turned 55 and could access upto 25% of my pensions tax-free. The rest is history…hope I’ve not supplanted an idea in your head!

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I forgot about that option, oh dear…

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I was just about to type that, and then I saw that you had beaten me to it, Jonners.

I guess two to three years before the upgrade bug begins to bite!

Ha ha yes - and then how! I’ve made a pretty good dent in my pension pot already and I’m not done yet - My Radikal Akurate is being upgraded to a Mk 2 on the 6th, then it’ll be Kore to Keel at some point. I think that’ll be it until the Dvxx2 Mk2 dies a death.
Then I read the post about the Morganas…oh dear…

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