We try but we are also human. It has become harder to do because so many people want it "NOW!" Sometimes things take thought, take time to arrange, and to set up the proper time. We have had folks tell us when we can do things to meet their schedules to the extent that it is well after we have closed and later in the evening like we were delivering a pizza. We keep trying.
Thank you for the compliments. I am trying to help folks understand a great many things as so many people really don't know. In some cases, the ease of pushing a button does not lead to satisfaction. Please tell others about our UA-cam videos and have them subscribe. We just added a video display in the store to let people watch the videos if they have a particular question that I have explained.
Oh, I think some do and some reward the efforts with purchases or at least stop by the store. Others continue to point and click and then bring their problems to us which often times we can not resolve. This is particularly troublesome when it is third party software or issues with the internet provider over which we have no control.
As has been said that arm board is likely originally for another arm. I'm sure that Linn can supply one for a Grace. However, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a site with templates for arm boards for just about every arm ever marketed that are suitable for a suspended turntable. SME 3009 with its adjustable plate is versatile.
Oh, in time. Right now, the challenge is to get it to work properly. After that, an future armboard would be simple enough. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Please subscribe and tell others about this channel.
I happen to own a Linn LP12 from 1986. Over the years, it's had a few upgrades, although I can't, at the moment, list them. The most prominent, when you look at it, is the Lingo IV power supply, which inhabits a separate box. The Lingo IV addresses a possible problem of speed constancy that is inaudible to me. If I had perfect pitch, then maybe I'd feel differently. In the past I had problems with Valhalla power boards. Two of them failed. I currently have a Linn Ittok arm and Ortofon Quintet S Black cartridge on the LP12. I had the arm -- which I bought off Ebay -- and cartridge professionally installed by a Linn expert. OK -- here's where I'm going with all of this. The Linn sounds great. BUT!!! -- there's so much TLC required in the way of upgrades and needing specific Linn accessories, like a genuine Linn arm and specialized Linn service, that I don't think that I'd buy a Linn, new or used, in 2024. There are a lot of turntables available now. For the money I spent on the Linn over the years, I think I'd pick ONE modern, current turntable, and pick ONE arm (which would probably be already installed) and be done with it.
Your points are well made and I have to agree. However, you must admit that Linn LP12 is one of the few tables that you can, in fact, upgrade albeit it has become terribly expensive. As for trained specialists, well, it's because they care. It is where my appreciation of painstaking exactness was born and I thank Linn and the representatives for that. I use the approach on many other things as well. I'll give you an example. The LP12 is a AR or Thorens turntable on steroids or what Shelby did to the Ford Mustang. Now, and this drives me nuts, older Thorens turntable suspensions should also be tuned. They use the same grommets, nearly the same springs, and in the same locations. Did Thorens dealers even care? Of course not because they didn't even know! In 38 years, I have only seen ONE, and I mean ONE Thorens turntable that still had a bearing worth a damn. Linn owners remove the outer platter and lift the inner one when moving it to protect the bearing. Thorens owners, well, they remove the outer platter but that's just to keep it from ruining the dust cover. I no longer sell Linn and now represent Rega, Pure Fidelity, and Clearaudio turntables. They are simply much nicer companies with whom to do business.
And those are among the companies I'd look at if I were buying new. The gentleman who has done all of my Linn service in recent years is over 90 years old now, assuming he's still with us. I'm 79, so I'm not going to get on him for his age. But when he's gone, I don't know who among the staff of that shop would service Linn.
Thank you for taking the time to watch, read the comments that I write (which is often where some real juicy meat can be found) and to contribute. @@curtiscroulet8715
Nice arm the Grace and sounds very good with the Dynavector 10x5. The geometry was never standard on those Grace tonearms. The null points are 66.805mm inner and 103.062 mm outer null for 222mm pivot to spindle and 15mm overhang. Japanese arms seemed to favour inner grooves and to hell with the outer ones.
Thank you for taking the time to contribute to the video. Always enjoy the insights that some folks can provide. It's easy to complain about anything, it's a lot harder to gain the knowledge and to use it for the benefit of others. Well done.
Oh, yes. Turntables, in particular, are exacting mechanical devices. When dealing with such products, you have to trust what you see as much as buying a car that someone has "modified." I have a friend who repairs trucks that have been modified and particularly the suspensions, bearings, and joints after they put parts to extend out wide tires. Many of the original parts were not designed for the changes in stress on them. He makes a good living.
This is really odd - Linn imported the Grace as a turntable package prior to the introduction of the ttok and armboards were available for it. Looks like a blank armboard was used instead and drilled incorrectly or to accommodate the lid, but I'm sure Linn Grace packages had lids.....
I am certainly inclined to agree with you on this. But as I stated, this is not a "special" problem to Linn turntables at all. There are a lot of "itchy & scratchy" turntables out there where people use all sorts of methods like paper templates, eyeing it, you name it. It's not an "English or Scottish" issue either. We have plenty of US examples of it as well. Heck, I have even seen cheaper "all in one" turntables where they were manufactured (in large quantities, mind you) that were screwed the minute they were assembled. However, in this case, these specialty turntables and arms often command substantially higher prices and if you are only getting a $200 turntable performance, well, what's the point? It is only right for me to say "Buyer beware."
Most peculiar. The tonearm looks like a Grace G707 which was not only Linn's recommended tonearm at the time it was also imported and distributed by them. Indeed it was the tonearm I bought with my LP12, later upgraded when the Ittok was produced. I find it incredible that a company like Linn with all their experience and attention to detail would ever produce a product with such an obvious tolerance problem. This leads me to two thoughts. 1. Has the armboard been renewed at some point and either replaced with a non-linn aftermarket variant or home drilled? 2. Could it be your alignment tool is incorrect and the tonearm placement is actually correct? Have you checked your gauge using a high quality, fixed arm turntable such as a Technics 1200? (I've lit the blue touch-paper there, haven't I?!) 3, There is a small amount of adjustment (not half an inch, granted) available where the armboard is attached to the sub-chassis by three mounting screws. Did you check this? Granted, adlustment there would throw the armboard alignment out with the plinth cut-out but this could be masking a compensatory spring maladjustment. Also the "hard grip" of the tonearm cable is an essential part of the design philosophy and set-up procedure. In effect the tonearm cable acts as a fourth suspension spring and it's essential to grip the entrance section of the lead as tight as possible against the plinth using the supplied "P" clip as this "grounds" surface vibrations while allowing the compliance of the lead to act as a mechanical filter. Linn's instruction was that if the lead could be pulled through the clip it wasn't tight enough. The loss of a channel suggests rough handling at some point (causing the internal wiring to shear open circuit). This can happen if the cable is not routed properly from the "P" clip to the plinth exit point; this should have a small loop of cable to provide a compliant tolerance if the lead is accidentally pulled heavily from outside. The combined mis-alignment and cable concerns suggest to me that the turntable has been previously messed with by someone without sufficient product knowledge or training. Linn dealers are extensively trained; they're also expensive but there's a reason for that. You don't take your Bentley to the back-street auto shed........
Excellent observations and lord knows how this table was handled from its inception. This was the first time I saw this table. All of your observations are correct. Thank you for taking the time to write your beautiful and extensive comments. As I said in my video, this is not a Linn issue at all, it just happened to be the most recent example of what I find when these stray dogs or cats end up on my porch.
I have a Braun PS-500 turntable from the '80s. It no longer has the headshell it came with but is compatible with the current type of interchangeable headshells but I worry that the difference is throwing off getting the correct needle position. Does anyone know if this is a problem or not, and how to correct it other than spending $60+ and ordering a replacement from Germany?
Often times universal headshells, if they have slots rather than a singular screw point can work quite well. Try to get one that is a similar is weight as well. The slots allow you to move the cartridge forward or back for the proper overhang distance. Singular screw points do not.
Oh, I understand and agree. Please see my October Blog on the Audible Elegance website. It is not, most likely, all the answers to this phenomenon but I think it does provide some clues. Thank you for taking the time to contribute to the channel. Please share this channel with others and perhaps they will subscribe which makes my work possible.
I don't have a beard, a baseball cap, and a black t-shirt with stuff printed on it, but I do have a turntable with a different tone arm than it was born with. The instructions with the tonearm said that the distance from spindle to pivot should be 230mm, but after I tried to set the alignment with a modern printed card, it came out like it should be more like 235 mm. The arm came out before two-point alignment was a normal thing. Moral: Make a scrap armboard first to see whether the spec works with what they say to do now. And be sure to get a beard, a baseball cap, and a black t-shirt with stuff printed on it.
I use to keep a poster in the store with a monkey in a business suit. The caption was "How much does he really know?" So, yeah, I grew up in a time an era where we looked to the person and not the package. Anyway, nice comment and for some tables, a scrap armboard could be a good idea unless they are uniquely shaped or made like the Linn, Sota, Oracle, and I would name a few others. At least a scrap would avoid wasting a good one.
The G-707 uses geometry like a Rega with a 222 mm spindle to pivot distance. You can use a Linn armboard drilled for a Rega, but the hole is a bit too big, and you will need a second small hole for the arm rest. The 707 has two main failure points, the plastic headshell can crack quite easily, and the headshell wires are prone to breaking off from the little PCB they attach to at the solder joint. Dressing the proprietary arm cable on a LP12 is also a pain. While the old school Dennesen Soundtractor and Pivotram work well, these days I normally use the Feickert NG protractor which can perform both functions. It has a graduated scale on the beam so you can set the spindle to pivot distance, and the newer versions have a third low hole for the beam so the pointer can reach the armboard. The old Soundtractor always made me a bit nervous with a hole in the plate at the stylus position, just waiting to rip the tip off if you jostled anything the wrong way.
Love your videos and your passion for doing things right - the first time!
We try but we are also human. It has become harder to do because so many people want it "NOW!" Sometimes things take thought, take time to arrange, and to set up the proper time. We have had folks tell us when we can do things to meet their schedules to the extent that it is well after we have closed and later in the evening like we were delivering a pizza. We keep trying.
These videos are really informative! Thank you! (Was in your store once before COVID, great selection.)
Thank you for the compliments. I am trying to help folks understand a great many things as so many people really don't know. In some cases, the ease of pushing a button does not lead to satisfaction. Please tell others about our UA-cam videos and have them subscribe. We just added a video display in the store to let people watch the videos if they have a particular question that I have explained.
Hi Lou. I hope your customers really appreciate you. Doing good work !!
Oh, I think some do and some reward the efforts with purchases or at least stop by the store. Others continue to point and click and then bring their problems to us which often times we can not resolve. This is particularly troublesome when it is third party software or issues with the internet provider over which we have no control.
As has been said that arm board is likely originally for another arm. I'm sure that Linn can supply one for a Grace. However, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a site with templates for arm boards for just about every arm ever marketed that are suitable for a suspended turntable. SME 3009 with its adjustable plate is versatile.
Oh, in time. Right now, the challenge is to get it to work properly. After that, an future armboard would be simple enough.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Please subscribe and tell others about this channel.
I happen to own a Linn LP12 from 1986. Over the years, it's had a few upgrades, although I can't, at the moment, list them. The most prominent, when you look at it, is the Lingo IV power supply, which inhabits a separate box. The Lingo IV addresses a possible problem of speed constancy that is inaudible to me. If I had perfect pitch, then maybe I'd feel differently. In the past I had problems with Valhalla power boards. Two of them failed. I currently have a Linn Ittok arm and Ortofon Quintet S Black cartridge on the LP12. I had the arm -- which I bought off Ebay -- and cartridge professionally installed by a Linn expert. OK -- here's where I'm going with all of this. The Linn sounds great. BUT!!! -- there's so much TLC required in the way of upgrades and needing specific Linn accessories, like a genuine Linn arm and specialized Linn service, that I don't think that I'd buy a Linn, new or used, in 2024. There are a lot of turntables available now. For the money I spent on the Linn over the years, I think I'd pick ONE modern, current turntable, and pick ONE arm (which would probably be already installed) and be done with it.
Your points are well made and I have to agree. However, you must admit that Linn LP12 is one of the few tables that you can, in fact, upgrade albeit it has become terribly expensive. As for trained specialists, well, it's because they care. It is where my appreciation of painstaking exactness was born and I thank Linn and the representatives for that. I use the approach on many other things as well.
I'll give you an example. The LP12 is a AR or Thorens turntable on steroids or what Shelby did to the Ford Mustang. Now, and this drives me nuts, older Thorens turntable suspensions should also be tuned. They use the same grommets, nearly the same springs, and in the same locations. Did Thorens dealers even care? Of course not because they didn't even know! In 38 years, I have only seen ONE, and I mean ONE Thorens turntable that still had a bearing worth a damn. Linn owners remove the outer platter and lift the inner one when moving it to protect the bearing. Thorens owners, well, they remove the outer platter but that's just to keep it from ruining the dust cover.
I no longer sell Linn and now represent Rega, Pure Fidelity, and Clearaudio turntables. They are simply much nicer companies with whom to do business.
And those are among the companies I'd look at if I were buying new. The gentleman who has done all of my Linn service in recent years is over 90 years old now, assuming he's still with us. I'm 79, so I'm not going to get on him for his age. But when he's gone, I don't know who among the staff of that shop would service Linn.
Thank you for taking the time to watch, read the comments that I write (which is often where some real juicy meat can be found) and to contribute. @@curtiscroulet8715
Nice arm the Grace and sounds very good with the Dynavector 10x5. The geometry was never standard on those Grace tonearms. The null points are 66.805mm inner and 103.062 mm outer null for 222mm pivot to spindle and 15mm overhang. Japanese arms seemed to favour inner grooves and to hell with the outer ones.
Thank you for taking the time to contribute to the video. Always enjoy the insights that some folks can provide. It's easy to complain about anything, it's a lot harder to gain the knowledge and to use it for the benefit of others. Well done.
Food for thought!
Oh, yes. Turntables, in particular, are exacting mechanical devices. When dealing with such products, you have to trust what you see as much as buying a car that someone has "modified."
I have a friend who repairs trucks that have been modified and particularly the suspensions, bearings, and joints after they put parts to extend out wide tires. Many of the original parts were not designed for the changes in stress on them. He makes a good living.
This is really odd - Linn imported the Grace as a turntable package prior to the introduction of the ttok and armboards were available for it. Looks like a blank armboard was used instead and drilled incorrectly or to accommodate the lid, but I'm sure Linn Grace packages had lids.....
I am certainly inclined to agree with you on this. But as I stated, this is not a "special" problem to Linn turntables at all. There are a lot of "itchy & scratchy" turntables out there where people use all sorts of methods like paper templates, eyeing it, you name it. It's not an "English or Scottish" issue either. We have plenty of US examples of it as well. Heck, I have even seen cheaper "all in one" turntables where they were manufactured (in large quantities, mind you) that were screwed the minute they were assembled. However, in this case, these specialty turntables and arms often command substantially higher prices and if you are only getting a $200 turntable performance, well, what's the point? It is only right for me to say "Buyer beware."
Most peculiar. The tonearm looks like a Grace G707 which was not only Linn's recommended tonearm at the time it was also imported and distributed by them. Indeed it was the tonearm I bought with my LP12, later upgraded when the Ittok was produced. I find it incredible that a company like Linn with all their experience and attention to detail would ever produce a product with such an obvious tolerance problem. This leads me to two thoughts. 1. Has the armboard been renewed at some point and either replaced with a non-linn aftermarket variant or home drilled? 2. Could it be your alignment tool is incorrect and the tonearm placement is actually correct? Have you checked your gauge using a high quality, fixed arm turntable such as a Technics 1200? (I've lit the blue touch-paper there, haven't I?!) 3, There is a small amount of adjustment (not half an inch, granted) available where the armboard is attached to the sub-chassis by three mounting screws. Did you check this? Granted, adlustment there would throw the armboard alignment out with the plinth cut-out but this could be masking a compensatory spring maladjustment. Also the "hard grip" of the tonearm cable is an essential part of the design philosophy and set-up procedure. In effect the tonearm cable acts as a fourth suspension spring and it's essential to grip the entrance section of the lead as tight as possible against the plinth using the supplied "P" clip as this "grounds" surface vibrations while allowing the compliance of the lead to act as a mechanical filter. Linn's instruction was that if the lead could be pulled through the clip it wasn't tight enough. The loss of a channel suggests rough handling at some point (causing the internal wiring to shear open circuit). This can happen if the cable is not routed properly from the "P" clip to the plinth exit point; this should have a small loop of cable to provide a compliant tolerance if the lead is accidentally pulled heavily from outside. The combined mis-alignment and cable concerns suggest to me that the turntable has been previously messed with by someone without sufficient product knowledge or training. Linn dealers are extensively trained; they're also expensive but there's a reason for that. You don't take your Bentley to the back-street auto shed........
Excellent observations and lord knows how this table was handled from its inception. This was the first time I saw this table. All of your observations are correct. Thank you for taking the time to write your beautiful and extensive comments. As I said in my video, this is not a Linn issue at all, it just happened to be the most recent example of what I find when these stray dogs or cats end up on my porch.
I love the "stray dogs" analogy! Thanks for your interest and comments; enjoy your evening my friend
I have a Braun PS-500 turntable from the '80s. It no longer has the headshell it came with but is compatible with the current type of interchangeable headshells but I worry that the difference is throwing off getting the correct needle position. Does anyone know if this is a problem or not, and how to correct it other than spending $60+ and ordering a replacement from Germany?
Often times universal headshells, if they have slots rather than a singular screw point can work quite well. Try to get one that is a similar is weight as well. The slots allow you to move the cartridge forward or back for the proper overhang distance. Singular screw points do not.
They are a premium brand above others but one has a price tag of $60,000 lol
Oh, I understand and agree. Please see my October Blog on the Audible Elegance website. It is not, most likely, all the answers to this phenomenon but I think it does provide some clues.
Thank you for taking the time to contribute to the channel. Please share this channel with others and perhaps they will subscribe which makes my work possible.
Why not just put a sliding arm mount, how did somebody get it so wrong.
That's my point. Buying without checking is like buying a mail order used car.
I don't have a beard, a baseball cap, and a black t-shirt with stuff printed on it, but I do have a turntable with a different tone arm than it was born with. The instructions with the tonearm said that the distance from spindle to pivot should be 230mm, but after I tried to set the alignment with a modern printed card, it came out like it should be more like 235 mm. The arm came out before two-point alignment was a normal thing. Moral: Make a scrap armboard first to see whether the spec works with what they say to do now. And be sure to get a beard, a baseball cap, and a black t-shirt with stuff printed on it.
You dont have a beard and baseball cap , but what you do have is colour blindness , his t-shirt is blue lol 😊
I use to keep a poster in the store with a monkey in a business suit. The caption was "How much does he really know?" So, yeah, I grew up in a time an era where we looked to the person and not the package. Anyway, nice comment and for some tables, a scrap armboard could be a good idea unless they are uniquely shaped or made like the Linn, Sota, Oracle, and I would name a few others. At least a scrap would avoid wasting a good one.
The G-707 uses geometry like a Rega with a 222 mm spindle to pivot distance. You can use a Linn armboard drilled for a Rega, but the hole is a bit too big, and you will need a second small hole for the arm rest.
The 707 has two main failure points, the plastic headshell can crack quite easily, and the headshell wires are prone to breaking off from the little PCB they attach to at the solder joint. Dressing the proprietary arm cable on a LP12 is also a pain.
While the old school Dennesen Soundtractor and Pivotram work well, these days I normally use the Feickert NG protractor which can perform both functions. It has a graduated scale on the beam so you can set the spindle to pivot distance, and the newer versions have a third low hole for the beam so the pointer can reach the armboard.
The old Soundtractor always made me a bit nervous with a hole in the plate at the stylus position, just waiting to rip the tip off if you jostled anything the wrong way.