Linn Sondek Majik LP12 - Simply (A Lot) Better Than it Was Before! 

I bought mine secondhand from my Hi Fi dealer about 30yrs ago and have upgraded it over the yrs to pretty much new speck. All that's left of the old deck is its three black bolts. I thought it sounded great way back then but now it sounds fantastic. How far will I take it on it's upgrade journey is anyone's guess but up till now it's been a rollercoaster of a ride both musically and enjoyably.

Owning an LP12 has been a life goal. Sadly I only ever got to Ariston RD80SL I still have it and love it. Even with the Linn Basik Plus arm.

I Scored One Day ; was Reading the Daily Newspaper Classifieds and to My Amazement a (LP12 Turntable for Sale $20) But it was in Pieces in a Cardboard Box from a Japanese Fellow who wasn't going to Sell it to Me at First but reneged as He was Embarrased ;I begged and he gave in , the Felt on this older LP12 was well used and thin as a Wafer it had a red clear on/off Switch but I Took it in to my Music Store who Carried Linn Products and they Brought it Back to Life with a Vahalla Kit I Believe andI Got Otta There in a Song ...Happy as a Pig in Dirt !

Hi Dave & Mike: I bought my first LP 12 back in 1982. In 2014, I traded it and my LP’s to a good friend for(who always admired it) for a Linn LK140 amp + Kolektor preamp in mint condition, which I enjoy every day. I have 3 sets in different rooms and love them. My friend enjoyed the table until a couple years ago. He then sold it in parts for a decent return. If I ever return to vinyl (no way as a streaming playlist lover), I would have to splurge and get the new LP 12 Majik. I bought into “Linn For Life” back in ‘82 and its in my blood now after 40 years of enjoyment and still going. Hope my buying days are over especially with Linn 2022 pricing….quite sobering. Great review as always! Cheers! michael

Speaking as your hi fi grannie, who had a Linn LP12 for more than thirty years, one of the last of the grooved plinth versions, listening to someone hell bent on the purchase of an LP12 today, what would I say? I would say buy a second hand LP12 for a maximum of 1500 quid and get it serviced by a Linn dealer. Listen to it for a couple of years, then spend your three and a half thousand quid on something else, such as a turntable with direct drive. Even entry level LP12 prices these days are too high to make sense. Own an LP12 if you must, but choose second hand, then forget the hype and have a serious listen to the alternatives available. (Great channel - keep going).

I absolutely love my LP12

I've had many turntables, but the Linn Sondek has an uncanny ability to convey the essence of music like no other...

Just came across your channel, have subscribed. 👍 Jim 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙂

I have to say that the Rega P3 is a hard act to follow even though most of my hifi is LINN!

30 years ago I auditioned price comparable LP12 & PT Export turntables. There was only one choice if I wanted a turntable I could tap my foot along to, the PT. The Linn had an overblown, fairly one note bass. And yes, it was set up properly! As I worked at a Linn dealer at the time, I knew the difference a Lingo could have made to the sound, but the PT still offered better performance without the need to spend an additional £400. I’ll have to concede though, that the PT I owned, then later sold, would almost definitely have been outlived by the Linn!

MY tip is to do away with the base board all together & support the plinth with 4 bath tap washers on a Sound Organisation turntable type rack. Highly satisfactory sound wise & does not cost much.

Another interesting watch, cheers guys. I was always a Roksan guy, still got my Rosewood Xerxes from the mid eighties and used to raise my eyebrows at the linn aim 'flat earthers' of the time! Id like to hear a modern version of the lp12 as I imagine they've addressed the issues that made me buy elsewhere. Ive only recently just bought my first naim product ( fell in love with a NAP250DR) and it would be justice indeed if I were to get an LP12 next and end up in the linn/naim camp after all this time 😂

Boy, Mike is still very deep down the 1982 Linn/Naim rabbit hole.

I owned a 1980 sondek with classic ittok and azak combination. That worked well for 40 years - 40 years!!!! I now have the majik and krane with the linn krystal M/C. It sounds fantastic. Now - I'd love to know what type of music you two listen too. I'd guess Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin - that type of thing - M.O.R. - judging by the look of you. However if I did an AB test between my original 1980 '''dek and the ''jik deck I would wager you couldn't tell which was which. You guys are fooling yourselves.

Yet before Linn used to call their LP-12 "simply perfect". Improved on perfection?

Great video ,chaps. Very interesting and informative. 😎😸

Awesome work, fellas. Let's see a PT video to counter this gem, now.

Got the old fruit box, still love it.

Sad to say I remember when it was launched, £48 with plinth, less as a chassis early 70’s. It was only when I taped an Alan Parson’s Project album on a Rega Planar 3, and a Linn, same arm, swapping the cartridge on to Maxell metal C90 on a Nakamichi ZXL1000, then listened to the playback AR60 and Rogers LS3/5a, the difference in clarity was remarkable. As this was done at a Hi-Fi show in Dun Loaghaire, I did manage to confess this to Ivor in the bar one night.

I took the valhalla and fitted it to the Systemdek iix with some component mods to better the spec, sounds imo as good as a good lp12, I was thinking about designing a better supply than the lingo at a much lower cost that can be used across AC motor platforms at 240/110v, at a much lower cost (

I now own a NAS Hyperspace , with an Ekos .... sounds wonderful

It still makes a great door stop!!!!!

You fellows may or may not remember the Linn/Sota war that occurred in The Absolute Sound in the late 80's or early 90's. The Absolute Sound had a writer that was totally on the Sota Star Sapphire bandwagon and stated firmly that it trounced the Linn. Well, the Linn survived and the Sota has sort of faded into obscurity. I have a 1983 Linn Sondek LP12 that went through a clinic in 2006 where two "Linnies" came over from Scotland to perform free advice and minor service at the then Linn dealer in Tampa, FL, Audio Visions South. I foolishly gave the go ahead to upgrade my Linn at considerable expense with: Cirkus Bearing Upgrade, Lingo, new arm board for my Ittok, Trampolin Base and cables. When I said "foolishly", let me explain. The hour was getting late and I'm not sure they had come prepared or expecting to do this extensive job in the short, allotted time they had. As a result, they hurried the task. I got the turntable home and was sorely disappointed. Now the end of the story. The dealer is out of business, but it doesn't really matter because I have moved to Eastern Tennessee. To my rescue comes a small store in Kingsport, "Mr. Toad's Audio". The owner convinced me that his technician was a genius and if I bought a cartridge from him, he would disassemble my Linn, install a new cartridge, and make it right. HE DID!!!! So here is my advice to anyone considering the purchase of a Linn Sondek LP12. Make sure you buy from someone reputable who shares your love for this turntable and is prepared to do the work involved to optimize it's performance. Without that, it's at best a mediocre sounding turntable. End of story.

David price is a GOD

Thanks guys, great review and shirt! Excuse my ignorance but why is the power source so important?

Does the dealer still assemble the deck? I wouldn't be happy paying all that money to have a sales boy bodge it together. I would much prefer getting the parts and doing it myself!

I've had my 1985 LP12 (with the fluted plinth and Logic Datum S tonearm) since 1989. No upgrades & after my expensive moving coil cartridge was broke I'm on an Ortofon Red MM cartridge. I'm not tempted to spend on the recommended upgrades as it's so far into a rabbit hole that I'd never find my way home

Even a top spec LP12 isn't exactly the greatest thing since sliced bread and I would never go back to one, (or any TT for that matter) but it's a nice trip down memory lane, just like your channel guys 😊 I remember one of the rags setting up a blind test a good few years back between an original spec LP12 with an Ekos and a Lyra I think , and compared said with a full spec machine with the same arm and cartridge. Bottom line: the two were almost indistinguishable but the bells and whistles version was very marginally better on some of the tracks. Get a good s/h one with an Ittok or Ekos.

Another enjoyable watch, covered very well, and one of my favourite topics. I bought a Majik about 2 years ago during the Karousel promo so it had the Jelco-made arm instead of the Krane. Very good value. My only real criticism is that it didn't boogie like the 80s / early 90s decks but otherwise it was excellent. Perhaps a Lingo 4 would have addressed that.

Michell TT are great but... belts are very hard to find at the present time, sadly.

Sounds great but I think there are better sounding alternatives for the price, or similar price range.

Hi , Just found you talking about Linn LP 12, Hi purchase mine back in the early 80s, last year it decided to pack up, printed circuit board has failed, Been quoted £1500 to repair it, not very impressed, especially nowadays that I am 70 years old living on a pension I’m struggling to make ends meet, my music is what I get up to each day, I hate listening to the radio because you never hear the true sound of a piece of music and a lot of people talk over the top of what you are listening to, and they never plays the full length of the piece of music. My ex partner has taken all my money she is very well off now, And I hope you both enjoy your music. On your very expensive record decks.

Although I respect the LP12, i feel that all of the mods for it are a way of just making revenue on it for very small gains in performance. To me, The Manticore Mantra was a superior disc spinning device that cost waaay less money, had better, tighter bass and was more tuneful over all.

linn tables are a headache.. needing constant adjustments and maintenance.. stay clear.

Ah, the Linn, winner of the "most overpriced and overrated turntable of all times" award (#2 place goes to the Technics SL-1200 series)

this product was a big shot back in the days of few competitors , but the fact that the design always required expensive upgrades to a design that might have been designed with more insight from the beginning , has me thinking it is just a big name riding mid pack with tables now available for less money.

In the true tradition of Linn... it is WAY TOO EXPENSIVEI I had one. Poor build quality. Easily bettered by many others - one of which I now own

And what about the SOUND?

Not in that HORRIBLE blue colour though!

Extremely overrated and now ridiculously overpriced ? Worst thing about it was the way a record would jump EVERY time I walked past it. Lasted 2 months and stuck with my Systemdek 2. Now got Notts An. 294 for LP's and Techy SL-1200 for singles. MUCH BETTER T/T's.

You're just trying to sell the newest and the latest. Fact is a well setup vintage Linn Sondek sounds very close to the current ones and some folks actually prefer it's warmer and somewhat more mellow sound. Vintage Linns are a bit less dynamic and somewhat warmer and thicker in the mid bass. But otherwise very similar. The sonic differences in the latest versions are just not worth the thousands of dollars this overpriced product fetches.

Overpriced. Buy /Thorens or Brinkmann instead

So basically everyone championing this fundamentally flawed deck was lying for decades and decades?