…and it might be that the way that Regas and Linns present music is different enough that the auditioner could actually be choosing between these presentations rather than performance.
I would rather call it auditiners may or may not be in favor for one or the other turntable. But since you rather not compare against total junk none of those on the list or shown here are beaten by each other in real - but they all sound a bit different.
I was really referring to respective levels (price, performance), since there will always be many esoteric high costing creations out there from other manufacturers
Linn seem to suggest that their turntables are the best at each of the 3 levels (price performance) … yet it seems the Rega’s and other decks are actually much better value for money.
The Klimax level may be all conquering (or not?) but the Majik and Akurate ones seem out of step with rivals… i.e. premium inflated price for the Linn logo, in the hope that you’ll continue to upgrade towards Klimax and if you don’t choose to, then at least you paid over the odds in the first place.
An interesting business model
Why pay thousands more for a Linn deck if the better performance can be had for far less?
I’m not anti Linn, but they now seem to target a market where cost seems not to worry the buyer.
In its day the Linn perhaps did reign superior and there were perhaps fewer competitors… the world has changed.
The LP12 still sounds awesome but appears to cost twice what it should.
Huh, unfortunately there are two competing and even opposing perspectives in this field. The evaluation of technical factors that result in more than just an indication of a dedicated quality level rarely match the individual evaluation by audition. However, individual tastes and preferences are far too different. Therefore, any attempt to set up a general rating or a ranking that is valid for everyone will fail.
I don´t think so. Today it is the fixed costs of a company alone that, spread over a few units sold, justify such high prices. It used to be a mass market, but after all, today we´re rather talking about sales in a niche market. Same with costs for innovation, development, manufacturing and sales.
Perhaps it is not that obvious or not sufficiently well known, but the distribution channel usually adds a good 100% to the manufacturer’s sales price.
Seen this way, an LP12 is certainly not cheap, but still inexpensive.
I think that the engineering solutions adopted by either company, expensive with rega and very expensive with linn, result in two differences: obviously, pricing but also musical signature. There may also be a ‘volume of sales’ and profit margins set of issues. One thing is for absolute certain: both companies care about both music and their customers.
I know some folks get caught up in members taking an image as the start of a thought process and follow up discussion but short of starting up endless separate threads to discuss specific thoughts or questions I don’t feel it’s a big deal to have an open debate around how different products compare to each other and what their relative merits are in terms of price point, flexibility, performance, system compliance and so forth.
Bottom line when considering a choice from Rega or Linn being that either will give a lot of enjoyment and work well within a Naim ecosystem as many here will testify to.
Having now been a Rega owner for some years and prior to that having dabbled with various other offerings from Linn, Thorens, Technics, Trio and so on, it’s interesting to hear how the current offerings compare and what benefits may be gained from one choice over another, a move from Rega to Linn in my case. I did fire up a specific Rega tweaks thread which has proved to be insightful and active with a lot of different avenues having been explored by certain individuals.
In the spirit of avoiding topic drift I may well setup a new thread to do some more targeted analysis and hope that we get back to being more image centric here and allow peace to resume!
Always nice to see others setups and here about their product journeys regardless.
Once the initial flurry of pictures have been posted it’s almost inevitable that the thread is more of a general discussion. It’s just the same on System Pics. It’s also the case that those who post demanding more pictures rarely post any themselves and seem to expect others to provide their entertainment.
I’m really enjoying using my Planar 6 / Ania. It’s nice to be able to see what’s inside the cartridge, and to know that it’s all handmade in sunny Essex.
I’m not so sure about Linn, the way they dropped support for their CD players says otherwise.
Rega, at least in the UK, do very well. My 15 year old Maia amp lost a channel and they charged me £50 to repair it. How much would a similar repair on a NAP150 have cost?
It never ceases to amaze me on this forum how many people share very similar ‘hi-fi’ journeys.
My LP12 is also 39 years old & replaced a Rega Planar 3 (although this was not as loved as yours, hence the LP12).
Mine has been upgraded over the years to Lingo 1, Kore, Ekos, Krystal & will probably have a Karousel by the end of the year. The only original bits left from my first LP12 are the outer platter, rear lid hinges & a totally unmarked smoked lid which I have always felt looks far classier than the clear one. The silver detailing stripe on the front of the lid has yellowed over the years but now blends perfectly with the new walnut plinth I had fitted last year to match new walnut speakers & the custom unit I had made for the rest of the system!
A small lounge/listening room limits the size speakers I can use to small stand mounts & I feel that I would be unable to fully benefit from further upgrades to the turntable when balancing the extra cost to the perceived sound quality improvements with my small speakers. I am probably unlikely to move house again so, barring broken/worn out part replacement, I have reached the end of the LP12 upgrade path for the foreseeable future.
What the LP12 has enabled, since original purchase, is the ability to upgrade everything else in the certain knowledge that it will never be out of it’s depth when partnered with anything else. I agree with you that buying a full house Linn is now very expensive &, for all but the wealthiest, not a realistic option when compared with the many fine alternatives available. As I am sure you have found, upgrading to our current levels over a large number of years has not been particularly difficult to afford & the turntable will probably keep going longer than I will!
Like you, it has been an enjoyable path to follow &, as many have found, every official Linn upgrade has bought an improvement in sound quality. My only disappointment? Thirty nine years later & the LP12 is still the best sound source. I am very surprised that local streaming (ripped CDs from a Core in my case), streaming, internet radio etc still come second best, although admittedly not too far behind!