OK time to dig up this old thread
Having heard an LP12, I decided that I should go this route regardless of how long it took me to get there. My strategy was to buy a decent one that was value for money and then, if needed, take a slow meandering walk along the upgrade path enjoying each step on the way.
eBay came up trumps over the weekend and I bought this:
LINN SONDEK LP12 , NAIM ARMAGEDDON POWER SUPPLY, REGA RB300 TONEARM , ORTOFON 520 MARK 2 CART EX CONDITION
LINN COMES WITH ORIGINAL BOX AND PACKING.
SET UP RECENTLY AND SERVICED BY INSPIRE HIFI ( ONE OF THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY )
HAS INSPIRE ACRIMAT .
SOLD WITH UN USED CLEAR LINN LID AND BRACKETS, STILL IN THE MAIN BOX!!
I don't want to change anything on the turntable yet, but I do think that a few quid spent on the phono stage is now worthwhile.
The two that are catching my eye are the Lehmann Black Cube and the Naim Stageline. With the Naim amp & Armageddon, I am naturally biassed towards the Stageline, but I see the downsides as being that I need to buy a potentially costly power supply for it and that it would constrain my cartridge upgrade path to MM if I bought it to support this set-up.
Thoughts & advice mucho appreciated.
FG