Show us your Sondek

Thanks for that ‘perspective’. I once listened to a bamboo plinth and was assured it made a significant improvement over my oak. It may have done but neither me or my wife could hear the difference. I’m therefore an extremely cautious upgrader.

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Keel - £3240
Kore - £978

Cost of ‘1/3rd more’ = about £2200.

I have a Kore, which I bought pre-loved… (for £550, in 2022)

VFM… :expressionless:

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If we are thinking of the same plinth, the USP was that it was carved out of a single piece of wood. I struggle to imagine bamboo growing large enough for this, so I may have got this wrong!

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I imagine they bond sheets of bamboo together before letting the CNC Machine loose.

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I agree entirely Peter

Having the Keel you delivered to me and via the Harry setup , the percentage gain in performance is very impressive I must say

I would encourage anyone who has the funds on hand to do the upgrade from Kore just do it

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For what it’s worth, the finish on the Keel is way better than on the Kore too. The Keel is anodised just like the Klimax Radikal. In my opinion, it’s a better finish than on any Naim box.

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Agree Clive :+1:

Be happy then :slight_smile:

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If you are concerned about VFM go third party and don’t look back, Linn LP12 upgrade path is simply unreasonable.

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I completely disagree. I think that the hinges for the lid are the only original components of the Linn LP12 that I bought from Howard Popeck of Subjective Audio in Camden about 35 or so years ago. But the LP12 that I have now is streets ahead of what I bought then, in terms of performance and (to my eyes, at least) looks.

If I had bought a different turntable all the way back then, I shudder to think how many times I would have been tempted to swap it, sell it, and change it to keep up with the improvements that I have made!

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Or… look for pre-loved. Most of my recent Linn upgrades have been… :astonished:

(always happy to benefit from others upgrading and trading in and/or selling)

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I’m not concerned about cost - I accept the cost I just don’t feel inclined to pay the cost (of Keel/Radikal) to get whatever the improvement gain is. I’m not even sure my CB/Piega’s are capable of showing the benefits of a Keel. As for 3rd party, I bought a Linn LP12 because I wanted a Linn LP12 so 3rd party’s not for me although I readily accept many users don’t share my opinion. That’s the beauty of the LP12 which leaves us all happy.

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In your opinion. What’s your opinion on the price differential between a CB250 and a New Classic 250? Or the average house price back in say 1990 and now? The relative price of beer etc. Inflation is a real pain but if we want quality/better manufacture to stay in the UK, paying skilled UK workers, paying UK taxes and pensions then the upgrade path is not unreasonable. :roll_eyes: :unamused: Just my 2p worth…

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Ok and IMHO it should be big FYI, but the best upgrade; the Karousel is pretty much the cheapest! You could always look at second-hand Radikals as others have said, and selling your power supply and motor to off-set the cost! - Just thinking it could be something to consider!

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By todays standards the LP12 is a very inexpensive fairly priced high end turntable. Hard to say but true.

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Imho…

Second-hand Lingos are pretty cheap and fairly plentiful. Radicals are a lot more but they are also better than all the alternatives I have heard.

Keels are audibly better than Kores or third party choices in the ears of most, though just about all of them are clearly better then the older Linn versions.

Karousel seems to help fine detail, boogie and stereo image versus Cirkus, and is probably the best value upgrade if buying new.

It would be odd to buy a new PS or sub-chassis when s/h options will be audibly identical for vastly less - unlike bearings or cartridges.

Less than £100 can get a Target or similar wall bracket on eBay. Compared to putting an LP12 on a book case or a heavy or wobbly rack or anything resting on a bouncy floor, that is surely the best sound-per-£ upgrade of all.

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Thank you for you response. I do hope to replace the Karousel bearing at some point.

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I wasn’t referring to inflation or product evolution, I clearly said VFM is on third parties, for example:

£3,240.00 Linn Keel sub-chassis
£1,541.67 StackAudio Soprano sub-chassis

Both slow rate machined from a single billet of aluminum by skilled UK workers, with Linn more than double price.

I have no experience of the keel and bow to superior knowledge of its performance above Kore etc. but I am curious as to why it’s priced north of £3K when to my eye, it’s a piece of billet aluminium (7075?) run through a CNC program and subsequently anodised? ….or am I missing something?

Apologies for the duplication……the post above only appeared when I submitted mine……

Yes. Not all machined sub-chassis are created the same even if 7075 is used. Indeed they are very different in so many ways.
SQ is the one we ordinarily judge by. However, there is far more to it than that. The time and effort some companies put into their products designs and development can be very different. No substitute for R&D and then the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Single variable comparison is the only way to do it. The difference is then very often obvious.

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