I rather fear that this topic will have been done to death, but I can’t find it if so. And the Linn website is as clear as mud.
Having upgraded from a Uniti Star & KEF R5 speakers to a SN3, an NDX2 and a pair of PMC twenty5.24i’s - and loving the uplift in SQ - I am now sorely tempted with upgrading my Rega P6 c/w Ania MC cartridge & Rega Fono MC Mk3.
Questions …
Would the internal MM phono stage within the SN3 be “good enough” for a Majik c/w Crane arm & Adikt MM cartridge? Or would it become a bottleneck?
If so, if I moved up to a Koil MC cartridge, would my existing Rega Fono MC Mk3 be OK, or unsuitable / a bottleneck?
How important to a entry level spec LP12 is adding an external PS?
I would think the mm in the supernait would be ok. I would look to upgrade when you go mc though as fono is quite basic.
In terms of power supply bear in mind that the built in one does not switch to 45rpm, you have to take the platter off and install an adaptor. Also think about where you want to end up, linn philosophy is to work in to out for upgrades, so PS is the most important to do. I went straight to radical as I knew that is the level I wanted to end up at. However the new lingo 4 is meant to be almost as good as the old radical
I think Ryder35 has given some good advice -in your shoes I’d take the MM option to free up budget for upgrading the deck in areas where you’ll probably gain more performance, Pound for Pound. Majik 'spec decks come with the excellent Karousel Bearing now, so I’d probably look at the PSU and go Lingo 4 or Radikal. Both of these will be a dealer fit and most keep trade-ins to help keep the cost down. It’s only my opinion but I think standalone Phono Stages are better than integrated. If you can, try to stretch to something a little less entry-level, such as Rega’s excellent Aria (plenty around on eBay and it’ll handle MM and MC). I do think the Radikal is superb BTW, it blew my L4 out of the water when I did a bake-off but it comes at a price of course. The very first thing I think you need to do is to speak with a Linn dealer - we’ve all got an opinion on here but these guys are who you need to trust as they’ll be taking your money, not us!
Many thanks, both - very helpful. I could cope with the cost of a Lingo 4 & a Rega Aria, but feel the Radikal is more than I would be comfortable with just now. I will pop down to my nearest dealer soon …
PS Famous last words, but 45rpm is not important to me.
It’s not just this. The performance of the Majik PSU in 33rpm is also outclassed even by a Valhalla or a Hercules. It’s the Achilles’ heel of the Majik.
Understood Haffle - you’ll get the 45RPM option anyway with an upgrade. If you choose a dealer who is both Rega and Linn you’ll most likely be able to get a trade-in on the Rega to offset some of the upgrade costs. One other purchase you should consider if you buy secondhand records is a cleaning machine - they’re an upgrade in themselves and have the side-benefit of keeping your stylus clean.
It sounds like your budget is not a million miles away from what I’m considering spending on a replacement deck, possibly with new cartridge too. Can I ask if it is just the Linn Majik you’re considering? Are any of the P8/P10 of interest? Particularly as you currently use a P6.
I’m not considering any of those, nor the Majik, just curious why you’ve narrowed the choice down to that deck? Or is part of the decision making process the answers to the questions you’ve asked?
I tried both a Stageline N and the inbuilt XS3 phono stage with my Goldring 1042 cartridge. Both sounded fine, and broadly similar. Adding a Graham Slee Accession and Enigma PSU was a pretty big improvement. The Goldring 1042 is a well respected but reasonably middle ground MM, and it categorically benefited from a better phono stage, if that helps!?
@Jonners - I already have a Pro-Ject VC-S2 and enjoy the benefits it brings; a sonic machine would be nice, but I’ll stick with the VC-S2 for now.
@gthack - As I am “moving up” from a P6 I sort-of felt that the P8 wouldn’t give me sufficient uplift to be worth the cost to change; the P10 could be an option, but rightly or wrongly I have lusted after a Sondek for far too long.
Another long held gut feeling that I should probably bin as an outdated meme is that MM are by nature inferior beasts. Certainly a stage that can do both MC & MM has its benefits for someone who is towards the start of their journey…
I’ve also wanted a LP12 forever. And I know the Rega decks are very well engineered and respected. For some reason I want to try the competition, and am kinda hoping at the £3k ish level that most decks will sound great, just differing in presentation. My short list is OL Aurora& Encounter arm, Gyrodec SE&Techno arm, Technics SL1200G. I have a 3-way demo lined up for Sep. I really ought to listen to the Linn and Regas after that, I’m still trying to decide if I will X)
Another vote here for Lingo 4 and a phono stage at around the level of the Aria. However, if you want to get more from an LP12, you may also want to upgrade the sub-chassis to a Core (or third party rivals like the highly regarded Stack options). Personally, I suspect that that change should come before going MC or changing anything else.
People upgrading mean that eBay and Linn dealers often have Lingo 4 and Cores on offer. On the meantime, you will already have a good turntable.
I agree with IanRobertM, I did exactly that. I went to a Linn dealer with a budget that was the same as a new Magik LP12 and they built me an LP12 using a mix of brand new and pre loved parts that easily outperforms the Magik for the same cost. Some Linn dealers can be very creative when they have incredible technical knowledge of the Sondek.
I had no idea you could get one built to your spec / budget I thought you just bought them off the peg. It’s incredible what a really great Linn dealer can do, they should shout about it more, I only found out through a friend of mine.
