Linn LP12 Turntable / Ittok Tonearm / Asaka Cartridge / Cirkus / Trampolinn / Lingo Power Supply

The classic Linn Sondek LP12 turntable is one of the oldest and most important audio components there is, and the fact that it still in production today, albeit with a few modifications along the way, says something about that original design. With well over 100,000 units produced in its 50-year history it has become something of a legend to many audiophiles across the world.
Our example has the classic Ittok tonearm and Asaka cartridge fitted and also comes with the Cirkus, Trampolinn and Lingo power supply upgrades. Cosmetically the plinth does have a few minor marks which can be seen in the photographs. It is in good working order, but it would of course benefit from a specialist service & set up. The deck  will be supplied professionally packaged in brand new Linn packing, and comes with our normal three month warranty. Please note that as we have no exact knowledge of the amount of use and wear to the cartridge this is not covered by our warranty.
Linn Say…
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
33rpm + 45rpm
Specifications:
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-Pol-Synchronous motor, fully screened and mechanically decoupled from main bearing
Drive: Neoprene flat belt, concentric precision pulley (0.01 mm)
Speed accuracy: 0.03%
Power consumption: 13W
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
Ittok Tonearm
With the Linn Ittok LVII tonearm the brief was to design an arm that performs to the same standard as the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable. The result is a pick-up arm which has been acknowledged as a significant advance in disc playing equipment.
The Linn Ittok LVII was designed with several performance features in mind. First, stability. It is a coherent mechanical system designed to maintain a precise relationship between the cartridge and turntable. This is due in part to a bearing system that minimises intermittent or continuous loss of dynamic accuracy. Second, simplicity. Dials for both tracking weight and bias force enable easy and highly accurate adjustment, making the Ittok simple to install and convenient to use.
The Ittok is particularly suitable for use with the Linn Asak DC-2100K moving coil cartridge and enables the full performance potential of this cartridge to be realised.
The Ittok is designed not to degrade with use or require continuous adjustment. In addition, it is engineered to cope with the most difficult cartridges now available and to anticipate future cartridge development.
Linn Asaka Moving Coil Cartridge
Specifications:
Body: Metal
Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 1dB
Tracking Weight Range: 1.5 – 1.7 g
Compliance (cu): 10
Recommended Load: >10 ohm; 470 ohm nominal
Capacitance Loading: Not critical
Tracking Angle (deg.): 20
Output: 100 μV
Stylus Type: Vital
Weight: 7.0 g
Separation @ 1 kHz: Better than 27 dB
Channel balance @ 1 kHz: within 1 dB
Upgrades
The LP12 has had many upgrades through the years. The major ones were given exotic names, like Nirvana, Valhalla, Lingo, Trampolin reflecting the advances in accurate sound reproduction which they represented. There have also been many unnamed improvements like new feet, new baseboard, new armboard, new suspension springs and grommets and new plinth. The list is long, and it means that an LP12 need never be out of date.
Cirkus Upgrade
The Cirkus upgrade to the LP12 focuses on bearing performance and the connection of the bearing housing to the sub-chassis. The improved bearing and stronger sub-chassis arrangement provide the turntable with greater stability and ensures the bearing sits perfectly true to the chassis of the turntable. This in turn minimises the risk of turntable platter movement with respect to the sub-chassis and arm. Even the slightest movement will introduce audible degradation to the reproduced signal.
Together the changes to the bearing and the sub-chassis make an enormous difference to the overall performance of the turntable. The specific changes are as follows:
1. The thickness of the bearing housing mounting flange has been substantially increased and undercuts eliminated to make it many times more rigid. This also allows the use of larger mounting bolts.
2. Increased distance between top and bottom liners in the bearing housing to make it as stable as possible eliminating even the smallest amount of rocking
3. An increase in the height of the bearing housing from the top of its inner liner to increase oil capacity, ensuring proper lubrication of the top bearing at all times.
4. Double thickness sub-chassis to improve rigidity, reducing flexing and improving control of the relationship between key components
Trampolin Upgrade
The Trampolin is a baseboard for the LP12, fitted as standard from 1991 and designed to further improve acoustic and mechanical isolation of the turntable from its surrounding when used on standard furniture or wall shelves.
From 2006 it is now manufactured from high quality aluminium and features acoustic dampening material to minimise unwanted movement and vibration to provide an even better audio performance.
When the LP12 is used in rooms with solid concrete floors or on heavy furniture, sound quality can be improved by fitting the Trampolin. This provides greatly improved isolation from floor-borne vibration (20dB at 100Hz), and its adjustable feet accommodate items of furniture which make the turntable difficult to level accurately. However, where suspended wooden floors are concerned (which may upset Trampolin suspension), for best results from this upgrade we recommend that the turntable is mounted on a wall bracket.
Lingo Power Supply
At the heart of the Lingo are two very low noise crystal oscillators derived from the Linn Numerik digital recording system – one for 33.33rpm and one for 45rpm. The switch on the turntable selects the appropriate oscillator, whose output is fed into a synchronous counter to produce a 50Hz or 67.5Hz square wave for 33rpm and 45rpm respectively.
As the LP12 motor runs quietest when driven with a clean sinusoidal waveform, a precision filter is employed in the Lingo to remove harmonics from the square wave leaving only a pure sinusoid.
The most uniform torque is delivered from the motor when both phases are driven at ninety degrees with respect to one another. This is achieved by a ninety degree phase-shift network after the filter. The two resulting sinusoids drive two high voltage Class A amplifiers, the outputs of which drive the two motor windings/ The Lingo uses ‘stall detection’ circuitry to feed the motor with a higher voltage for increased start-up torque. When the platter reaches the selected speed, this load-sensing circuitry reduces the power output. From then on the motor just maintains the platter’s own inertia to keep it going silently. A toroidal transformer on the PCB and a mains filter give a very high degree of electrical isolation from the mains voltage supply.
Dimensions: 157 (W) x 326 (D) x 75 (H) mm