Vinyl Passion VP12

[Floyddroid]

I visited Mark Sears recently of Vinyl Passion recently. The name of his company is not unfounded the man is is wildly passionate about vinyl. I was there to dem a piece of kit and listened to numerous CD's i had taken and suitably impressed. However, when it came time to play an LP i had taken along. Not being a fan of the Linn LP12 i was expecting to be underwhelmed especially as it was sporting a mid priced Origin Live tonearm. My jaw hit the floor as the first song of my album finished. Turns out that what i thought was a Linn LP12 was indeed a completely rebuilt device which Mark described in great depth and even should be one under construction in his work shop. The power supply alone was stunning but the four point suspention is a fantastic innovation. I would never consider a Linn LP 12 having once owned one for fifteen years and thrown hundreds of pounds at. A vinyl Passion VP12 i would have tomorrow.

https://i.imgur.com/fdiyHdx.jpg

[Bigbird]

I visited Mark Sears recently of Vinyl Passion recently. The name of his company is not unfounded the man is is wildly passionate about vinyl. I was there to dem a piece of kit and listened to numerous CD's i had taken and suitably impressed. However, when it came time to play an LP i had taken along. Not being a fan of the Linn LP12 i was expecting to be underwhelmed especially as it was sporting a mid priced Origin Live tonearm. My jaw hit the floor as the first song of my album finished. Turns out that what i thought was a Linn LP12 was indeed a completely rebuilt device which Mark described in great depth and even should be one under construction in his work shop. The power supply alone was stunning but the four point suspention is a fantastic innovation. I would never consider a Linn LP 12 having once owned one for fifteen years and thrown hundreds of pounds at. A vinyl Passion VP12 i would have tomorrow.

https://i.imgur.com/fdiyHdx.jpg

I have his top plate and it was an improvement over the standard. The old fruitbox is a serious bit of kit if done properly. Unfortunately the linn path is stupidly expensive which puts people off, but, you can thankfully now get all of that performance from well made aftermarket products like Mark’s and others.


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[YNWaN]

the four point suspention is a fantastic innovation.

Looks like three point to me:

http://www.vinylpassion.com/Upgrades/Unity/files/large_7641.png

In fact it looks very like a cut down version of the RubiKon chassis I designed some years ago (the matching armboard even more so).

http://audioflat.co.uk/library/Aro%20under.jpg

[Floyddroid]

You may be right Mark. I was never good at listening at school ha ha. As I said I am no fan of the Linn LP12 but the VP12 I though was stunning. The work on the power supply alone and attention to detail is gob smacking. If I had the resources I would be snapping one up. Mark was busy building a review unit whilst I was there destined for a HiFi journalist and the engineering in it is really something else.

[YNWaN]

I’ve heard the full VP rig quite a few times as he/they often attend the audio shows - I’m afraid I can’t say it’s ever done much for me (though the amplification and speakers used may be the cause).

[Spectral Morn]

Looks like three point to me:

http://www.vinylpassion.com/Upgrades/Unity/files/large_7641.png

In fact it looks very like a cut down version of the RubiKon chassis I designed some years ago (the matching armboard even more so).

http://audioflat.co.uk/library/Aro%20under.jpg

Any issue with patent/copyright re it resembling your design?

[YNWaN]

A patent was too expensive at the time and would most likely have centred around the construction rather than the shape. However, before the RubiKon there were no chassis with the concave form to the sides and the pierced central element.

During development my then business partner was approached by VP who were interested in selling it - unfortunately it was going to cost more than they wanted to spend and we wanted to sell through Linn dealers. Their chassis isn’t an outright copy, and I would argue it actually misses the whole design point of the RubiKon, but the shape is clearly a homage if nothing else. If you look at their website and the back of the aluminium armboard you will see a similar level of pastiche.

[Mike Adams]

Generally don't like belt drive turntables but agree that the VP12 is really nice. In fact its one of the few belt drive TT that I don't get annoyed at the lack of speed stability.

[Floyddroid]

Generally don't like belt drive turntables but agree that the VP12 is really nice. In fact its one of the few belt drive TT that I don't get annoyed at the lack of speed stability.

My VPI is quite stable

[Floyddroid]

I’ve heard the full VP rig quite a few times as he/they often attend the audio shows - I’m afraid I can’t say it’s ever done much for me (though the amplification and speakers used may be the cause).

One man's meat and all that...

[YNWaN]

Perhaps - I've never been keen on the Vincent phonostage and I've only ever heard the deck in the context of the whole system. I believe the motor and power supply are those that Mober do.

As it happens, Mober now do an LP12 chassis that looks like this:

https://www.hifi-forsale.co.uk/images/large_images/58770_1.jpg

[Ammonite Audio]

I do believe that the PSU is a brand new design and their own. There are some details as you scroll down the page at https://www.missinglinkcables.co.uk/linn-lp-12-upgrades?fbclid=IwAR0JpxLzOF3fLcmtTXvrDnELnhiRBYAI VnAOLyzuWCQ6vEfz7vZgzZfMZWc



Perhaps - I've never been keen on the Vincent phonostage and I've only ever heard the deck in the context of the whole system. I believe the motor and power supply are those that Mober do.

As it happens, Mober now do an LP12 chassis that looks like this:

https://www.hifi-forsale.co.uk/images/large_images/58770_1.jpg

[YNWaN]

Ah, yes indeed. The new power supply does look interesting.