Show us your Sondek

Just imagine how much it would cost if it was a coloured bag with a logo. Linn missed a trick there.

You guys should take a look to McIntosh: you pay 2000 Euros for an empty box :wink:

1 Like

Branding said bag as the Linn Plastik.

1 Like

I dusted off my circa '82 original (Valhalla?) LP12 Sondek to put into service soon. It needs a bit of a clean and tune up, but it’s all working fine. I also need a phono stage as I no longer have one, but funds a very tight, so I’ll start off with something fairly basic for now then upgrade as and when funds allow.


I was very lucky to get it for a crazy price. But on the condition that I’d look after it and after passing what I can only describe as an interview with the previous owner who bought it new. Messy divorce, caravan park in the south west of London, no cash to heat the place, etc etc. He literally cried when I left promising I’d be faithful to it. I’ve had it in storage for a few years as I sorted out other things in life and now it’s time to revive.

What a beauty.

29 Likes

A good bargain phono stage is the Rega Fono and if cash stretches far enough then a Rega Aria is also very good for the money. It looks like it has a Valhalla from the switch.

3 Likes

I was pretty sure it was as I don’t have 45 and have to use an adapter on the motor spindle.

1 Like

My first LP12 upgrades. A pair of reading glasses so I can check the stylus and records for cleaning, and a Collaro mat (complete with double sided tape to keep it on the platter).

19 Likes

Rega fono works for me, strangely my LP12 landed out of the blue, now here on long time loan.

1 Like

Cool glasses :+1:

1 Like

Detect difference with collaro mat Mike ?

Yes @Bevo, quite noticeable - more open and dynamic. Really pleased for such a simple and cheap tweak. Haven’t done the belt yet, the second hand doesn’t look to be a genuine Linn one, so might just grab a new one from my dealer - but I want to get a cheap wet wash RCM first, as battling with static.

1 Like

I’ll get a red collaro for my Sondek down south

Can’t post links on forum but was it through a store in Melbourne ? I can’t remember where I got my black one from

Cheers

Groove Audio it was Bevo.

Ah yes that rings a bell

Thanks Mike much appreciated

1 Like

No, it COSTS £60,000.

It’s WORTH about the same as a standard LP12, although it probably sounds less good.

One of Linn’s sillier gimmicks of recent years, I think.

I wonder how many gullible people were tempted.

I have an especially ‘close up’ pair of reading glasses for this purpose!

My dealer has sold 2. The cost is clearly off the scale for most folk but it’s peanuts to some (maybe the US market). He was really enthusiastic about the sound of the deck. The key is the Bedrock Plinth which he hopes will eventually be available as an upgrade, minus curves.
One man’s gimmick is another man’s clever marketing. The US market for ‘high end’ looks insane to me ‘but’ you’ve got to be in it to win it. The LP12 50th isn’t really aimed at the ‘hobbyist’ I guess but it does, because of Ives, give Linn prestige & a turntable for those who see high expense as an essential part of building their own status.
Interesting to see what happens next. Having just paid £977 for a Karousel & belt I feel like I’m in a glass house myself tbh.

4 Likes

Is there anyone else out there who suspects a lot of this hifi witchcraft is down to reducing static? Or is it just me? Eco3, Acouplex, Colaro mat? :man_shrugging:

3 Likes

I haven’t really had vinyl for 35 years, my memories are the more I tried to reduce static and other pops and crackle the more I heard. But that might have just been me.

2 Likes

Well, the Colaro hasn’t fixed the static, that’s probably more due to the weather and the 180g vinyl!