Great upgrade! As I generally like the Ortofon carts (and your Rega tonearm) I’m looking forward to more of your impressions of the differences, given XSL should give a lot more over XML also.
1 Like
Thanks DC and yes I’ll give some thoughts after everything has settled in. The RB1000 needs 4mm of armboard spacer with this cart but rather than use 2 Rega spacers I got these nice stainless precision ones from an engineering company.
7 Likes
No changes to mine except for taking it off the top of my sound org rack and putting in on IKEA Lack Coffee table. I found this to be an upgrade in sound quality.
20 Likes
Lovely set up. Very nice
Are you using the phono cards in the 72 ?
Best wishes
R
2 Likes
Thank you very much for your kind words.
I’m using a Rega Aria Phono Stage into the Tuner input of the 72.
Nice 
Thinking the Aria is tough to beat, at its price point.
Also, a nice step up from the 72 internal cards.
So sorry. Forgotten you had the Aria, (and it’s not listed in your profile), but now you’ve reminded me, we had that chat about loading & settings a while back.
Just curious, have you tried using link wires on the phono input, comparing with the tuner DIN alternative. Not sure, I’ve done that, so just curious?
Anyway, that’s a really nice set up. Enjoy.
Happy listening
R
1 Like
Sorry, have now updated my profile to include the Aria.
I’ve not tried link wires on the Phono input to make a comparison. My guess is that Din will be better.
I kept the MC loading on the Aria at 69db gain and 150 ohms. Find this suits the system best.
Have a great day.
Very nice classic olive system with a lovely looking LP12
3 Likes
The newly fitted AT-OC9XSL has now had 20+ albums under its belt and seems to have settled in nicely. Apparently the ‘special line contact’ stylus on the XSL (the same profile is used on their flagship ART1000 cart) doesn’t need much ‘running in’, so time for a mini review;
The first thing to note is this cart has an output of 0.4mV and therefore results in a very healthy line level output from the 523-K boards I’m using, such that 10 o’clock on the NAC volume control is plenty loud for most listening. At that level any phono stage background hiss is barely audible so a good result there. More importantly is just how much quieter the cart is when in the groove compared to the 2M Bronze (which itself was reasonably quiet). We aren’t talking digital inky blackness here, but impressively quiet all the same. Tracking/tracing ability appears to be top notch, with not a hint of inner groove (or any other) distortion.
Of course It’s how it sounds when the music starts that really matters and I’m still a bit gobsmacked at how much more visceral and unmistakably real everything is with this cart. From the very first note I’m held in the grip of whatever is being played from beginning to end. The enduring impression is that I’m hearing exactly what is in the groove, with nothing added or lost. The sheer speed and attack of transients, along with lack of any smear, is remarkable. Also remarkable is a much greater sense of the dynamic contrast that vocalist and musicians use to add drama - something the 2M only hinted at but when you hear it done properly is incredibly powerful. In step with the above there is ‘Hi-Fi’ stuff aplenty such as being able to clearly hear every lyric, and previously barely noticeable nuances in voices and instruments now popping up everywhere. There is much greater solidity and purity, without any feeling of compromising the musical flow and integrity - quite the opposite really. This cart has an ease and refinement to it that allows for a real emotional connection to a wide range of music, from (in my collection at any rate) the acid jazz of Soul Quality Quartet, to the fiery blues of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, to the delicacy of Carol King’s Tapestry. It just works, brilliantly.
8 Likes
That’s very ‘old skool’, with the fluted plinth and the black painted skirt. I was never sure why Linn used the black paint - to make the plinth appear less deep, perhaps?
Has it changed much in the three years since that photo, Kevin?
Graham, the plinth is the original plinth from when I bought the LP12 in 1987. It has a few scratcheas and it’s been bleached by the sun, but I like it like that; same with the platter, which has a nice patina to it now – I don’t like things to look too shiny and new!
I think the black skirt - along with the fluting - definitely makes an LP12 look low-slung and sexy. I don’t like them when they look too “tubby”.
The main change fdrom that photo to now is that the turntable is now on a Solid Sounds support.
11 Likes
Get a bottle of Danish oil to treat the plinth, it will come up superbly and the scratches (and maybe even the bleaching) will disappear. But do keep the oil away from the metal top plate.
1 Like
I think, apart from the music, it’s the signs of age and use on the LP12 that Kev loves - characterful, like the man hisself. Shows a life well-loved and lived.
He and I agree about tubby - black skirt anyday, lol.
3 Likes
Treating the plinth with Danish oil won’t make it look new, just well looked after.
There was an interesting post/response quite awhile ago (when some of us were talking about using oil on the plinth), to the effect that unless the lacquer was removed first, the oil would not be absorbed and therefore had little effect apart from to make a plinth shinier (I’ve not quoted exactly as it was quite awhile back).
4 Likes
stevie, for lacquered wood (and especially on highly polished aftermarket plinths (which are likely finished with multiple coats of cellulose lacquer) you’re probably best sticking with a wax polish. Lemon oil is meant for use on bare wood, like guitar fretboards etc. It feeds the wood as well as cleaning it, but obviously can’t work as intended on a lacquered surface.
3 Likes
Thank you @Mr.Tibbs 
Not quite as far back as I thought (I found my first comment on using oil for plinths back in 2020, so thought it was around then).
PS - agree, smoked lids rule 
Even with the black bottom 
2 Likes
