Linn LP12 Turntable - Afromosia / Valhalla / Ekos Tonearm

LP12 Sondek Turntable

Linn Products have always stated that the turntable is the most important part of a high fidelity system. If you don’t get a good signal off the record then it doesn’t matter how good the rest of your system is, the sound will be bad. When upgrading your system there is a strict hierarchy to observe. After the turntable, the next most important component is the arm, followed by the cartridge. Once the turntable system has been optimised, the next component to choose is the amplifier. Finally, the last link in the chain is the loudspeaker.
The Linn Sondek LP12 reference transcription turntable has been setting the standards by which others are judged for over 30 years. Each component of the Sondek LP12 has been painstakingly developed to optimise information retrieval, because information lost at the source is lost forever, regardless of the amplifier or loudspeaker quality.
Linn is involved in every stage of the record and playback process. We can therefore check the signal at each step of the hi-fi chain, which is why we know what makes the Sondek LP12 a very special turntable: its perfect speed accuracy at 33rpm and 45rpm, its immunity against acoustical feedback, its low noise main bearing with mirror finish, and our legendary precision manufacturing, all of which ensure the pitch accurate faithful reproduction of the original source.

Features:

Extremely low-noise patented main bearing
Perfectly balanced high inertia platter
Strong, solid kiln-dried wood plinth
Heavy gauge non-magnetic, brushed satin, stainless steel plate
Highly efficient 3 point spring damped suspension
24-pole precision synchronous low noise, high torque motor
Precision pulley and Neoprene flat belt

Ekos Tonearm

The Ekos is manufactured to very close tolerances. To follow are the main features of the arm:
Headshell is machined from a solid black of hi-strength aluminium alloy which is far stronger than any casting technique
Armtube is bonded to the headshell and the main body using an advanced adhesive
Bearing assembly is matched to tolerances of 1 micron
Lift/lower device is damped in both directions to eliminate unwanted vibration
Tracking weight and bias adjustment are similar to the Ittok, but the spring is made to a closer tolerance so the tracking weight can be set even more accurately
Uses the same telescopic arm mounting arrangement as the Ittok

In 1972, Ivor Tiefenbrun, the founder of Linn Products, first demonstrated the Sondek LP12 turntable; and, if you excuse the pun, it started a revolution.
Prior to the Sondek LP12, conventional thinking was that the loudspeakers were the most important element of a hi-fi system. Ivor and
the Sondek LP12 turned this completely around and proved that it was the other end of the hi-fi chain, the turntable, that was most significant. After all, loudspeakers can only reproduce the signal that is fed to them. So if the power amplifier and pre-amplifier degrade the signal and lose some of the audio information, and the turntable does so too, then not even the best loudspeakers in the world can bring that music back. On the other hand, if the turntable extracts the maximum information from a record that it can, if a little of that audio signal is lost further along the path, then even average loudspeakers can still produce excellent results.
Extracting the maximum information from a record is what the Sondek LP12 has been doing for more than thirty-five years, making it the longest-lived hi-fi product still in production anywhere in the world, and the benchmark by which all other turntables are judged.

LP12 Sondek
Introduced: 1972
Type: Belt drive analogue turntable with 3-point suspension
Platter: 2 pieces, made of non-magnetic Mazak 8. Production tolerance 0.025 mm, optimal weight distribution
Platter Mat: Felt
Main Bearing: 1-Point bearing, mirror finish, oil bath
Suspension: 3-Point-Subchassis, 3 adjustable precision springs
Motor: High torque 24-Pole Synchronous motor, fully screened and mechanically decoupled from main bearing
Drive: Neoprene flat belt, concentric precision pulley (0.01 mm)
Speed Accuracy: 0.03%
Speeds: 33 rpm, 45 rpm
Power Consumption: 13 W
Dimensions: 445 (W) x 356 (D) x 140 (H) mm - Approximately 70 mm required at rear and 250 mm above the unit to permit opening of lid
Weight 10.0 kg
Ekos Tonearm
Lateral Bearing Friction: < 20 mg
Horizontal Bearing Friction: < 20 mg
Effective Mass: 11.5 g
Tracking Weight adjustment: 0 - 3 g
Cartridge Range: 3 – 9 g
Pivot to Stylus: 229 mm
Stylus Overhang: 18 mm
Effective Length: 211 mm

Turnaround

Orders will usually dispatched within 2 working days of receiving cleared payment.

Shipping Rates

We calculate your shipping rate based on the total weight of your items and your delivery address. Standard shipping to the UK Mainland (excludes Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands) is free, except where specifically indicated. Don't worry, you'll always see the final shipping charge displayed before you reach the payment step (on the checkout page).

Carriers

We despatch the bulk of our UK mainland items on a 24 hour service.  Non-Mainland locations – Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, the Scilly Isles, the Scottish highlands and Islands, the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland may take a day or so longer. Smaller items are delivered using Royal Mail 24 or special delivery. Larger items are delivered using a courier service such as UPS and occasionally by a Pallet service.

Order Tracking

If a tracking # is provided by the carrier, we will update your order with the tracking information. Please note that some orders will not have tracking numbers.