Help up-grade my LP12

[hanrahans1970]

Hi & hello

Although i have been reading What HiFi for many years i am new to the forum and was looking for a little advice and thought this would be a good place to start.

I have recently introduced a turntable to my current system, the turntable in question is the Linn LP12, I managed to inherit this from a family member but have had to invest quite a lot already on having this professionally set up & up-graded with the following: Cirkus, Addikt cartridge, new belt & full service along with a few other cosmetics like new lid, armboard etc.

The LP12 currently has the Valhalla power supply and the Basik Plus arm.

Overall i am really pleased with the LP12 but I cant help feeling it is lacking in certain areas, most noticibly soundstage & low frequencies.

I still have a little money left in the pot for one more up-grade (without the wife finding out) and i am not sure where to put this to see the most noticeable improvement, the buget is £1,000.

I was considering the addition of one of the folowing: Lingo power supply, Ittok II arm or up-grade the interconnect?

The rest of my system comprises of the following:

Cyrus 8

Cyrus X Power

2 x Cyrus PSXR

Primare D30.2

Naim Sounstage

Monitor Audio S6

Chord Silver Siren (to Primare)

Chord Cobra (from Naim phono)

Chord Rumour 4 (bi-wired/amped)

Any advice on where i should be spening to see the best sonic up-grade will be really helpful,

Cheers

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Personal gut feeling suggests the arm would yield big improvements. I changed from a Basik to a Syrinx (200quid 2nd hand) with nice wiring and it made a real difference. I wouldn't actually recommend this arm unless you're really sure it's sound as the bearings are delicate and if they're shot you've wasted your money (as is true of any arm, but the Syrinx is quite fragile).

Obvious alternatives that are all within your budget (though possibly 2nd hand) are Ekos and Arrow (never can remember how you spell these). A more budget alternative that some people say works and others say doesn't is the ubiquitous RB300 or RB250. A cheaper arm might leave budget for a second hand Armageddon although there exists an alternative power supply that offers speed control for about 400 quid I think - name anyone?

I don't know the cartridge and therefore can't comment, but without a proper arm it's never going to give of it's best anyway.

Hope this helps and let us know how you get on!

 

[Anonymous]

Oh and sorry, forgot to say, IMHO don't even bother with the Akito, it's way overpriced for what it is and won't give you enough improvement. People may disagree!!!!

 

[Miker]

I went through these anogies on what to spend whe I recently dusted down and upgraded my virgin 1974 LP12. On advice from Pink Fish Media classic section, I settled for a Hercules Power supply and Cirkus. I'd recommend that site as there seem to be many LP12 enthusiasts on it, all with individual views! I have yet to try my LP12 out as I am still awaiting my new hifi kit. I was also advised to change the wires in my old SME arm but I will wait and see.

 

[hanrahans1970]

Cheers & thanks for the feedback, you have confimred my initial thought of up-grading the arm, i think i can get a good Ittok for around £200(ish), this might leave enough left over for the power supply up-grade as i am sure the Valhalla is around 20 years old! Have'nt heard the Naim Armageddon V;s the Lingo any thoughts?

 

[Anonymous]

As regards the arm - just make sure it's a good one! Any play in
the bearings at all and forget it. The bearings are the heart and soul
of an arm and if they're not rock solid the whole thing is hopelessly
compromised.

Sadly no thoughts on the power supply as both are out of my budget so I've not investigated! I'm still in Valhalla (!) and can't really justify an upgrade until my amplifier is somewhat more esoteric than it is right now.

There is definitely a cheaper alternative that's (according to Unilet) damn nigh as good but I really can't remember the name. Might be worth investigating.

One thing to possibly be aware of - and it's third hand knowledge at best so treat with great caution - older Lingo's upset some amplifiers. Really treat this nougat of information carefully as it's certainly not gospel. The article does suggest that newer Lingo's may not be an issue. I almost hesitate to comment on this as the internet is such a dubious place to get information about anything -) but it would seem unfair not to. Anyway check Here.

 

[hanrahans1970]

Interesting reading and worth futher investigation.Thanks will keep you posted.

 

[gregory]

hello there,the ittok is a lovely arm and for £200.00 is reasonable, if it's in good condition .as jimwall mentioned,make sure the bearings are ok.as to the power supply the hercules ll for £160.00 is a plug and play unit that gives you the option of 45 as well,you take out the valhalla and clip it into place.if your not sure about doing this yourself most linn dealers will do this for a small charge.the valhalla has current running through it well after it's unplugged so you must know what your doing.you can then sell on the valhalla keeping the cost down.as you have had the linn serviced this would be a great upgrade then maybe a change of cartridge would bring even greater benefits.i heard the adikt on my own lp12 ittok lvll and it sounded no better than my grado black so for the time being the black stays until i find a cartridge worth splashing out for.i'm not saying the adikt is bad far from it but linn like to price their kit a bit to high for what it is,which probably goes to show how good the grados are.good luck,gregory.

 

[hanrahans1970]

Ok, so it looks like the next best move would be for the arm up-grade, Ittok lvII, this will be my first experience of buying an arm, any suggestions on how to bee sure it's a decent one? Everyone seems to mention the same area of concern (bearings) how do I tell if they are ok, any tell tale signs to look out for?

As for the power supply this is still a little confusing, I have been researching the web and there seems to be a lot of options available from Linn, Naim, Funk Firm, Hercules etc, any further advise on which provide the best sonic up-grade would be great, in the meantime I think I am going to be busy trying to sort out some demo's..