I bought a Linn Basik in 1990 I believe it was £300. Still using it now. Changed the Linn k5 cartridge for an AT VM95E. Yes, the hinges broke and I’ve ordered a new pair from Amazon for £28. Instead of plastic they could have made the part that brakes out of metal like the rest of the hinge. An upgrade suggestion maybe!
My dad bought a Linn Basik TT in the early 90’s (the early style with a totally flat plinth before they added the edging). It’s now been inherited by me and I keep it as a back up spare to my LP12. It has an Akito1 arm, K5 cartridge (with replacement AT95E stylus) and sounds absolutely great !! Yes I did have to buy a replacement set of lid hinges!
I bought my Basik in the late 80"s (I want to say 1988) with the Akito arm. A buddy of mine had one with the less expensive arm option (I want to say that arm was called either the Basik LVX or the Basik Plus, but it was too long ago to remember for sure.) My Basik/Akito combo still works fine today (no problems with the tonearm bearings). The biggest upgrade since I owned it was installing an Adikt cartridge. I use it with what I now call my vintage system, which is essentially the gear I bought back in the 80's.
I have 1989 Basik with the Basik plus arm. Still going strong. Had to replace the busted hinges as you described. The belt was always tricky to change as it slips off on 45rpm but with a bit of platter spinning I got around that! Not the quietest turntable though!
I bought a vintage Basik turntable a few months ago as a deck i could use as a back-up (To a Well Tempered Simplex) having read some favourable views. I've never been keen on belt drive decks (Particularly springy ones), and never a Linn fanboy, but I was really impressed and surprised with the way music came out of it. It sounds really stable and rhythmic no matter what type of LP I put on. After conditioning the bearing and cleaning the pulley, I checked the speed on the strobe and it was very accurate, even under different loads with an ancient belt. Hinges were OK but fading fast. As the deck sits on rubber feet that "give" its best to remove the lid when spinning... otherwise the back of the table will dip. At one point I had a similar vintage Sondek to compare it with and the Basik stood up surprisingly well. There was a slight opacity to the bass end of things and a slightly flat tonal character. Over several months of playing around with this turntable and having a good time listening to all kinds of music, I done a small amount of tweaking. A Jelco arm (Similar to the Linn Majik) replaced the not so fab Akito. It now sits on a lightweight vintage Sound Organisation table. The thin felt mat seemed to be the cause of some of the 'character' so I replaced it with an Achromat and various other small changes to wires. It is a now a more neutral sounding deck with a lot more clarity and definition. I find an excuse to play records on it everyday as its so so uncomplicated, unfussy and fun (Though I'd really like not to have to access the belt to remove the platter to change speed).
Hi David, could you tell me how you cleaned the pulley motor. Mine is making a little noise and don't know how to pull it out from the motor. As you know, the Linn Basik turntable motor is glued under the board. Speed is accurate but the pulley motor makes a little noise that you can here from a 2-3 feet distance...The premotec motor (Linn axis, lp12, rega...) is much easier to work on (a little special oil on the center pulley and things goes well). Thanks for your advice.
By the way, the belt is new, new special oil in the bearing cup, electronic was inspeced also by the same engineer in audio who look at it but he did know how to take out the pulley since the motor is glued. He told me that motor is not a brushless motor or something like that. Thanks.
the bearings are not short if they're not rusty. they are gummed up because of the nicotine, needs dismantling and cleaning and polishing. you could try quick fix get some spray three in one oil and spray the bearings and manipulation the arm and smacking the headshell with your finger not to violently. get a bit of tissue mop up any excess oil. hinges an easy fix find a bit thick plastic or hard wood and stick it over the plastic body pushing the spring back
Wilkinsons in Nelson can repair Axis power supplies for £95. Lifetime guarantee. They can also repair hinges. There’s a guy in Liverpool who repairs the power supply for £78. He’s on Ebay. I’ve had a Mk 1 supply done at Wilkinsons and a Mk2 with the guy in L/pool.
Had an Axis for a couple of years. It was a definite upgrade to my Dual 505. I can't remember why I bought the Axis because I had spent time auditioning the LP12 in earnest and the Sondek definitely had more 'authority' and 'weight' to the way it handled music. Anyway, very happy with the Axis until the inevitable upgrade to the LP12 happened a couple of years later.
One more thing that I remember is that the early Akito arms like the one I own were produced in Japan. Akito production would later move to Scotland. I also forgot to add that in the case of my Basik replacement lid hinges were needed at one point many years ago. Thus far the replacements have held up fine. Overall my Basik still looks like new in part because it sees so little use these days.
I purchased mine in May 93 for £250.00 plus £50.00 for the K5 Cartridge. Replaced with a AT stylus £20.00 now replaced by the orange AT Stylus £85.00. sounds great. Purchased over a comparison with the RP2 at the time. Nothing wrong with it. Not sure whether the Akito Tone Arm is the first or second model. Bearings fine and the hinges are fine. No sticker provided for On and Off. Still happy almost 30 years later.
I had an Axis which did great service for about 20 yes, and then the electronics went. The Akito then went on to do further great service in a Systemdek and an Oak until I got my P8
Another classic turntable from the 80's was the Heybrook TT2 with TPS power supply and a Rega RB300. I had one from '84 until 2010 - 26years until the TPS developed a fault - great performance and built like a tank!
First a disclaimer: I own a 1984 Linn Sondek LP12 that I bought from a friend in 1992 for $800. In 2007 a clinic where I did the following upgrades for $2,400: Cirkus, Lingo, cables, Adickt, Trampolin and armboard for existing Ittok. The dealer in Tampa FL lost complete interest in these tables and did a terrible job on these upgrades. It was many years later after being unhappy with the way my table sounded, I had someone take it completely apart and he was appalled at the loose screws and generally poor set up. Now living in TN the nearest dealer is just outside Atlanta I have heard he is quite good but it is a 4 hour drive. My verdict, not worth it anymore. The dealer in Tampa has long since gone out of business. Buy a Rega. (or a Mobile Fidelity or an EAT).
I have an axis and basik from 1990 still use the k9 works great sounds as good as ever. Gave the records a wet clean and some wd40 hardly any hiss even on albums from the 80s. Blutack is a good stylus cleaner. No need to spend money. My platter is all metal.
I have an as new Linn Basik I bought in 1994! What Rega turntable would you say it is equivalent to today? Only I am thinking of upgrading to a Rega P6.
I've still got my Linn basik turntable and bought it from Doug Brady hifi in Warrington England in the early 90's it has a one piece akito arm needs a cartridge upgrade
I have one of these and have used and loved it for years. Unfortunately, the feet are not quite level and I cannot work out how to adjust them. Anyone have any ideas? I currently have a small piece of Perspex under one side to make the deck level.
my basik is slightly different it hasnt got the wood edging ive also changed the inner platter for axis one just wish the motor wasnt so noisey can here it cogging
i have the Basik but i find changing speed (i have a lot of 12" 45's) by moving thge belt is a design flaw as the belt jumps off the spindle. i have given up listening to 45's.
Never been impressed by Linn anything. Not that keen on Rega players either have a cheap looking finish to my eye. I will stay with my Thorens 124 and Transcriptor turntables thank you very much.
I had a Linn LP 12 myself in the eighties, which I have long since retired. In my opinion, the LP 12 is the best example of a completely overpriced record player with many weaknesses. Ridiculous drive with a Philips motor for toys... Hence, of course, a long run-up time. Then there was the poorly dimensioned power supply unit, which gave up the ghost when it was converted to 230V in Germany. ... Whether Linn Basic or Linn Sondek. I would NEVER buy a record player from this company again. Not to mention the current absurd prices... This article also glosses over weaknesses that not even inexpensive turntables have. Linn turntables, at least in the early days, are an example of poor development for me... Linn could have learned how to build high-quality turntables in Japan. Don't even get me started on the state of the art drive of the Technics 1210... the Japanese also built high-quality turntables with belt drives. Linn is really only defended by fanboys...that should be clear to all lovers of turntables...I also fell for this LP 12 hype back then as a young man...with the result that I bought the worst turntable of all the turntables I've ever bought....
Maybe so, but my view is that at that price point its probably more down to personal preference . I have just bought a custom built Linn and it sounds beautiful - just seems to lift the music off the LPs effortlessly. I am sure the P10 sounds equally good , just different.
Comparing the Rega P10 with a Linn Basik seems nonsensical to me. I've enjoyed turntables from both Linn and Rega but appreciate Rega's overall philosophy more. In addition to the Linn Basik, I also owned a LP12. I previously owned a RP3, but now have a P6 and am very happy with it. The P10 would represent a waste of money in my case as I've pretty much already maxed out my system given my less than ideal listening room. Essentially, the table/arm/cartridge/phono pre really need to be considered as a whole, along with the rest of the system and the room itself.
