LP12 Set up in Cambridgeshire / Northamptonshire

[Weeman1973]

Does anyone have any recommendations for anyone I could use to set up my LP12 in either Cambridgeshire or Northamptonshire?

I've changed tonearms, armboard and cartridge recently and it isn't bouncing as well as it used to so I'm trying to get someone that knows what they are doing (ie not me!!) to get it to where it needs to be.

I've asked my local Linn dealer but they are 'strongly advising' I have their proper service including oil and belt change (which I've already done myself) as well as new springs and grommets etc which will be in the region of £250 + which is more than I wish to spend.

If anyone can point me in the right direction of someone that can set the suspension correctly, I'm happy doing everything else (in fact have already done so).

Thanks in advance.

[guy]

May be talking out of place here, but would"DSJR" be willing? Forum member, based in Felixstowe - may be worth a PM.

[Opti-cal]

A tad more distance-wise but I can thoroughly recommend Cymbiosis. https://www.cymbiosis.com/

Peter is an absolute gent and no one knows more about LP12's. An interesting guy to chat to also as he's not just deeply into hifi.

Book an appointment for service/setup and go and enjoy watching the man work in a comfortable environment with coffee, knowledgeable people and all the LP12's in various guises you could shake a tonearm at.

You also get to hear some Kudos Titan 808's . . . .

[hifi_dave]

DSJR is very capable of setting up an LP12 without the BS.

Alternatively, i regularly set up and service LP12s for a fraction of the 'official Linn' cost.

[Made in 1968]

What i do not get about Dealers & such setting up the deck being such a delicate instrument :lol: is when you put it back in your car to bring it home its not really as it was when it left the shop is it? Well if its getting knocked out while just playing records :rolleyes: im sure its gonna get re knocked out in the car! Home set up only i say & why you cant do it yourself is beyond me. There is no Mistique you know..

Amazing how al the other Suspended Deck don't need a set up Regime ;)

[Opti-cal]

What i do not get about Dealers & such setting up the deck being such a delicate instrument :lol: is when you put it back in your car to bring it home its not really as it was when it left the shop is it? Well if its getting knocked out while just playing records :rolleyes: im sure its gonna get re knocked out in the car! Home set up only i say & why you cant do it yourself is beyond me. There is no Mistique you know..

Amazing how al the other Suspended Deck don't need a set up Regime ;)

Having had it done - getting springs set 100% correctly/aligning plinth/selecting grommets etc is very important and having witnessed people do it I would say unless you have a lot of parts, a jig and all the right tools you will not achieve the same result at home. You could maybe get close but if you want it to be spot on I doubt it would be satisfactory in comparison.

For transport the deck is semi-dismantled and the platter removed along with being carefully packed in a correct sized box with padding so there is no stress on the deck during transportation. This bit is down to you obviously, but is important if you're serious about getting it home in the same state.

Another absolutely crucial part of the LP12 setup (and this is completely unique to the LP12) is the tension from the tonearm cable. It forms part of the suspension so getting the bend and tension correct affects the entire setup.

With other TT's I agree you don't have to pay dealers to do it or indeed accept their prices but once you have closely inspected the workings and theory of how the LP12 is actually put together, tiny adjustments and professional setup do add up to make a profound difference.

I am reasonably handy at setting up TT's but it was a night and day difference after my setup. I literally could not believe it.

I think my setup was actually south of £200 as I recall. That is a good 3 hours labour plus new (hand selected) springs and grommets along with a new Linn belt and correct oil service on the platter spindle. Also straightening of the plinth (it was miles out even though it looked straight to the eye) on a proper rig and tonearm setup.

I've probably missed out a couple of other things which were done too.

After all that the deck had perfect "pistonic" bounce and is completely silent but most importantly it sounded like a completely different deck. I wasn't exactly disappointed with how it sounded before but I had no idea just how good it could be.

I'm glad I took the plunge anyway.

[Made in 1968]

:lol: :lolsign: Yeh right

[AJSki2fly]

:lol: :lolsign: Yeh right

Now, Now:rolleyes::eyebrows:

[hifi_dave]

Setting up an LP12 is just sense, care and a little knack. There is no magic or fairy dust involved though some like to pretend it's only done properly by a handful of Gurus, with the right to charge a fortune to do the job.

Having said that, I've seen numerous, very poorly set up and sometimes butchered LP12s and many of those done by 'official Linn' dealers.

[Opti-cal]

Just giving my recent experience on a positive visit is all....

Just to add, I paid close attention to how to go about setting it up. Much more than watching any video or asking someone who didn't do it professionally.

That was part of the cost of the service and I certainly will be using methods obtained to help me in the future.

Additionally the belt is 30 quid or more sometimes plus the springs are 40 odd, plus the use of a professional jig.... That all adds up.

All I know is I've got a deck that sounds significantly better than it did before, plus I had a great morning and learned a lot.

Not really bothered if the guy's a "guru" or not, he made it sound it's best and explained why each tweak was important.

If people would rather DIY I'm a big advocate of that too.

[Made in 1968]

Special Jig lol I used a old Sound Organisation Turntable stand with the board removed.

Shame you couldny have listened to the deck before service with just the new belt changed ;)

Russ Andrews published a paper on how to set up one of those decks, it cost nothing to read.

[Opti-cal]

Special Jig lol I used a old Sound Organisation Turntable stand with the board removed.

Shame you couldny have listened to the deck before service with just the new belt changed ;)

Russ Andrews published a paper on how to set up one of those decks, it cost nothing to read.

You'd do well not to place complete faith in Russ Andrews....

Pretty funny (lol) you would use him as an example when attempting to discredit my post...

Irony is wasted on some....

[Opti-cal]

Apologies to the OP, I was genuinely just giving my experience to help.

[oceanobsession]

Apparently the springs get twisted when adjusted and can settle some 24 hours later so need readjusting and checking again in another 24 hours , so needs setting up at home really, i heard a mk3 lingo circus with a jelco and cadenza blue , sounded great warm and musical , but how can they charge
2.5k for a power supply , and 1.5k for an aluminium plate with slots cut out , the prices are silly . phil.

[Opti-cal]

Apparently the springs get twisted when adjusted and can settle some 24 hours later so need readjusting and checking again in another 24 hours , so needs setting up at home really, i heard a mk3 lingo circus with a jelco and cadenza blue , sounded great warm and musical , but how can they charge
2.5k for a power supply , and 1.5k for an aluminium plate with slots cut out , the prices are silly . phil.

Yup Linn prices are obscene.

There are loads of non-Linn aftermarket products that do the job just as well and in some cases better. I use a Mose power supply. From memory it was £250 and gives you 33.3/45 option without pulley change.

It also moves all the power circuits from the LP12 to an external box.
Fabulous upgrade too.

[Weeman1973]

Thanks to all for your input and genuinely no offence retaken to any posts. That’s why I asked for people’s opinions and it’s great to hear diverse views.

Whilst I appreciate valid points regarding having someone like Peter set my Sondek up to obtain the maximum performance from it, I think I’m more at the stage of spending £60-£70 on it to have someone spend 45 mins or so to set suspension rather than 3-4hrs and £300-400 or whatever to complete overhaul it.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Weeman1973]

Sorry but meant to add that I’m using a Lingo 1 supply so not looking to upgrade that either as it’s fine for what I need


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Opti-cal]

Sorry but meant to add that I’m using a Lingo 1 supply so not looking to upgrade that either as it’s fine for what I need


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nothing wrong with the Lingo, it's very good.

Also I think your decision is sensible. To be fair it was south of 200 to have it completely setup but circumstances dictated (1yr old running about!) that I can't have carte Blanche to be tweaking an LP12 for hours on end!

Needed it done once and right!

Hope you find someone to set it up for you, as you know there's lots of knowledgeable and helpful folk in here, I'm sure you'll get more responses.

Good luck!

[scotty38]

I think Peter from Cymbiosis has published an extensive set of documents to allow anyone to diy if they wish. They’re on his site I believe.

Here you go https://www.cymbiosis.com/downloads/

[hifi_dave]

Thanks to all for your input and genuinely no offence retaken to any posts. That’s why I asked for people’s opinions and it’s great to hear diverse views.

Whilst I appreciate valid points regarding having someone like Peter set my Sondek up to obtain the maximum performance from it, I think I’m more at the stage of spending £60-£70 on it to have someone spend 45 mins or so to set suspension rather than 3-4hrs and £300-400 or whatever to complete overhaul it.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've been setting up LP12s since the 70s and never feel the need to charge more than £60 or so. I set up, tweak and leave for at least 24 hours, then check and if necessary, tweak again.

Charging hundreds is not really on and I've seen some which were worked on by 'official Linn' dealers which were abysmal.

[Made in 1968]

You tell em Dave cos i get is shot down when i mention such things

[hifi_dave]

You tell em Dave cos i get is shot down when i mention such things

I just get ignored..:rolleyes:

[Opti-cal]

Okay boomers . . . :)

I fully appreciate what you guys are saying actually. It comes from not wanting people to get ripped off, a sentiment I am fully behind.

I've actually just dug out my receipt from my visit to Cymbiosis and included were a new set of headshell leads (Linn of course!) as a new cartridge was also fitted and aligned. I've seen dealers charging £50 for this service alone before.

So, springs, belt, headshell leads, cartridge fitting, oil service, jig alignment (lots of coffee). I still reckon that's good value for under £200 . . . . if you disagree, you disagree, its fine.

I dare say if I hadn't bought new parts there and had them fitted too the 'service' would have been well into single figures.
Not sure where the cries of "hundreds" have come from, its literally under two hundred for quite a few parts and skilled labour.

I understand people have hang ups about dealers overcharging (and rightly so) but trust me, these are some of the good guys.


Back to the OP's query, it sounds like if someone can do a quick setup of the springs for £60 or so, that's fair.

[hifi_dave]

Back to the OP's query, it sounds like if someone can do a quick setup of the springs for £60 or so, that's fair.

As I said. See post 20.

[Opti-cal]

As I said. See post 20.

Yep, that's what I was referencing . . . without actually referring to it.

[guy]

From Cymbiosis website:

"A standard LP12 service at Cymbiosis by Peter costs £75.00 + VAT per hour (up to a maximum of £270.00 but with a typical time of 2 hours) and includes a complete strip down of the deck to just the plinth and top plate, in order to ensure the fit of the top plate to the plinth is just as it should be, which is critical to sound quality, and then a careful rebuild.

Included within the service costs are new replacement springs, bushes, nuts and washers."