Show us your Sondek

Well, it’s all second-hand material, as almost all components are out of circulation. So you’ll probably pay whatever the previous owner would like to sell it for. I bought the LP12 (circus, black plinth, well-used cartridge) incl aro, prefix, armageddon and a hicap (both olive spec) for about 2800 EUR, and considered that to be a bargain.
I’m very -very- satisfied with it’s performance. It needs servicing though, and a new cartridge, but other than that, very nice (old) equipment.

Thanks!


@Arthur-Lee - Those were the days at the SO. Great times, I did the field work for my acoustics’ thesis in between triple Jack Daniels.

Dr. Frankenswain worked long into the night to create this new incarnation of my LP12 last night. This is what awaited me in his laboratory this morning. OUT are Cirkus, Nima, DV10X5 and Stageline S. IN are Karousel, Roksan Sara, Krystal and Urika1.

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Scary😁

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Not an ARO (used to have one) but a Tiger Paw Javelin arm, has been astounding!
PREFIX (just serviced by AV Options) inside!

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How are you getting on with the Collaro matt, have you found a difference?

The Collaro Mat is a nice up lift for the price. Have you added a Karousel? That is an UPGRADE

No it’s something I should look into.

Hi VTA-

What sort of power supply is hidden in your LP 12? I have never seen the circular blue ring on the top plate of the LP 12 that your table has on the front left hand side.

Thanks,

Bruce

I was given the Collaro Mat as a gift but never bothered to do a painstaking comparison with the old mat to be honest. On reflection I don’t think it does anything profound. Maybe a small improvement. After all it’s just a mat so it’s effect can only be subtle at best. I haven’t noticed my LP12 sounding awful though, anything but actually, so it’s probably a good product :slight_smile:

Looks great, and I am sure will sound fantastic!
After your good advice on the Karousel thread, I did the comparative auditions and took the plunge on A.Radical, Kore and Karousel but due to local lockdown restrictions my dealer cannot currently come and install. If the frustration gets too much I shall have to drive and collect them myself.

I found that it tightend the bass up and smoothed out the treble a touch from the original matt, but with all this fetteling sometimes you convince yourself! :exploding_head:

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Great to hear that you were able to audition the options Magpie. You’ll be pleasantly shocked when you finally get it home I’ve no doubt. Enjoy when that time finally arrives!
Kevin

It’s a Radikal like upgrade for a fraction of the price.

I was walking past my local hi-fi shop in December 1988 when I saw this in the window, secondhand, so I just had to blow most of my student grant on it. It’s a 1978 model, and already had Valhalla installed when I got it. Later I had the old Rega S-shaped arm replaced with an Akito, together with a new armboard. It’s also had a new bearing in the early 90’s. Currently using an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.
No plans for any radical upgrades such as we have seen in this thread but I love it and don’t expect to ever be without it. Yes, I did polish the platter for this photo - the old laquer had become so yellowed by about 20 years ago that I just had to polish it up with Brasso, which means a fresh polish every once in a while and a coat of Autoglym car polish to help preserve the finish. The next thing I need is new hinges…


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Great to see a 40 year old product still getting regular use. And one that has not had every Linn good idea bolted to it during those years.

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very good looking deck, just enjoy the music

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Karousel, Kore, Aro, geddon, adikt into Nait 1! Sounds great!

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do you prefer the nait 1 o or 2?