Post by Graham on Aug 12, 2018 14:21:04 GMT 12
I have just begun a restoration on an early Linn Sondek for a friend. The most pressing repair was to restore the plinth which had a horribly patched up black painted finish. I attacked it with paint stripper and a blunt putty knife. After several applications, exposed underneath was a beautiful veneer with quite attractive grain. Why anyone would paint over this lovely wood finish is a mystery to me !! The first of several coats of Danish Oil has bought the grain up very nicely.
 
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 12, 2018 16:07:09 GMT 12
Nice - you could implement the corner gussets too, while you're in there.
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Post by Graham on Aug 14, 2018 12:53:51 GMT 12
Here is a shot of the restored Sondek having just completed its first road test.
Corner gussets added, everything lubed adjusted and/or polished. We have sensibly chosen to leave all the internals standard as Ivor intended, the only upgrade being the Valhalla PSU. The Linn Basik Plus arm is equipped with a Supex SDX 1000 MC cartridge which has had a Garrott Bros Weinz stylus installed. It is just waiting for its new acrylic dust cover.
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Post by sub on Aug 14, 2018 13:10:49 GMT 12
Lovely! Do you think the corner gussets make a difference? Have read about the issue, and tried tapping the back left corner, on my 1984 LP12 with Valhalla and Ittok LVII, which did create a bit of a rattle from the area of the motor. However, I do not see how any sort of vibration could be created while playing? Certainly I am very happy with what I am hearing! So best to leave alone?
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Post by Graham on Aug 14, 2018 13:50:22 GMT 12
I personally don't see how the corner gussets could make a difference sonically, but feel they help strengthen the plinth corners particularly as the glue might have weakened with age.
A recognised upgrade that Linn carried out was to add a screw to secure the top plate in the corner behind the motor.
The top plate is originally only sitting in place (no glue) and being held down by just the two bolts that mount the centre brace. This can lead to the top plate vibrating slightly being picked up from the motor.
Rather than adding this screw I have added industrial strength thin double sided tape around the underside edges of the top plate to help secure it. When it is clamped down onto the plinth this provides extra bonding. IMO the top plate and plinth should be secured together as one.
I was reading the other day that many Sondek owners who have been victim to the endless and expensive upgrades have come to the conclusion that the original sound that they loved has been lost.
If it aint broke don't fix it !!!!
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 14, 2018 16:49:50 GMT 12
Yes those plinth corner mitre joints are not a strong woodwork solution & as Linn had a mantra about 'light and rigid', the housed-in corner gussets would have helped rigidity immensely - wood also shrinks/moves over time, affecting glue joints as Graham mentions, even seasoned wood. Also the SS top plate is a fairly tight fit into the rebated housing around the plinth 3 sides, almost 'spring' tight in the recess, with what seems like a minimum of screw fixing probably part of the 'liveliness of the sound (making it sound different from the Thorens TD150, from which some say the LP12 was copied). Over time you become familiar with the sound of Stainless Steel in components like TTs, tonearms, cartridge fittings, etc & the SS plate is certainly a contributor to the LP12 sonic signature. Personally I would be cautious about inserting any 'interface' material between the top plate & the wood plinth. The LP12, despite critics, was a unique/peculiar formula with a unique, successful sound. Tis true that the earliest LP12s had a more lively sound that some prefer to later iterations from Valhalla onwards. The much later (Lingo, Cirkus, Ekos) LP12s became much more controlled, eventually almost 'digital' sounding IMHO, by comparison.
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Post by Graham on Aug 15, 2018 9:00:00 GMT 12
We are not talking about the foam type double sided tape Owen, this is super thin industrial tape that when the backing paper is removed what is left is a thin membrane of adhesive. You would be surprised to know how much of your modern car is held together with this stuff ! The fact that Linn added a screw to secure the top plate in the corner near the motor clearly indicates to me that they acknowledged the need to securely attach the top plate to prevent vibration from the motor. They used a screw, while I used super adhesive to achieve the same thing. IMO my method is better !! The bottom line is the restored turntable sounds lovely 
Cheers
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Post by michaelw on Aug 15, 2018 14:17:58 GMT 12
back in the day linn really was full of bollocks. the so-called precision engineering resulted in bent top plates as standard, made that way as the stainless steel came off a roll. coupled to the pressed steel sub-chassis and you have a recipe for inconsistent setup. it's surprising it ever sounded as good as it did. 
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 15, 2018 14:22:35 GMT 12
Graham - if the owner is happy with the sound, then that's good enough. One easy improvement to an LP12, you may have heard me mention before, is to replace the power cord with a 15A heavier gauge one - you can tell me why it won't make any difference to a TT, but it does (bigger, more ballsy sound on my Valhalla Sondek). I have no idea why, go figure.... You know, I spent 8 years playing with a Sondek, tweaking lots of things & I'd be struggling to name many tweaks that improved the LP12.
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