Linn Products Majik LP12 Turntable

“If you haven’t heard it, then you don’t have a bleepin’ opinion!”

Or far saltier words to that effect were among the first I heard from Ivor Tiefenbrun, the take-no-prisoners-or-BS founder of Scotland’s Linn Products, Ltd.

This was roughly 1977 or ’78. I was a mere pup, barely 20, who’d landed a job at one of the Bay Area’s best high-end audio shops, and Ivor was touring the States conducting dealer training and proselytizing all things Linn. 

Tiefenbrun’s gauntlet throw-down was directed at people—and back in the Seventies there were plenty of them—who insisted that, as long as a turntable had no discernable wow, flutter, or other measurably operational flaws, record players made no real contribution to the sound of an audio system. In other words, as long as they spun records more or less accurately, they all sounded the same; cartridge choice notwithstanding.

Today this simplistic notion seems ludicrous, as ever since that time the turntable’s paramount role in an analog-based audio system has been considered obvious. And though Ivor wasn’t the only one fighting the fight, his was arguably the loudest and most passionate voice, and for that and the revolution in LP playback that continues to this day we owe him our gratitude. (Tiefenbrun is an inductee to this magazine’s High-End Hall of Fame.) 

My then job’s greatest fun came from demonstrating Ivor’s point to customers. Our shop had multiple turntable setups, allowing customers to compare various brands equipped with the same cartridges. It might be a Denon direct-drive or one of Rega’s early Planar belt-drives, but after a few backs-and forths with the same musical selection, the Linn invariably won the contest due to its famous ability to communicate the emotion of the music—or put simply, that famous “toe-tap-ability.” I even recall some after-hours listening sessions spinning a vulgar English comedy LP; and sure enough, what might have seemed merely crude and offensive on other players was rendered much funnier (if still filthy) on the LP12.

But getting an LP12 to perform to its fullest potential wasn’t an easy task. Tuning its relatively primitive, three-point sprung suspension so that the platter would bounce smoothly and uniformly straight up and down with no lateral wiggle required both a magician’s touch and the patience of a saint; something the store’s owner possessed but that I, and most of the staff, never quite mastered.

Of course, this only anointed the Linn with an even greater air of mystery and desirability.

Soon the LP12’s supremacy would be challenged by the likes of SOTA, Oracle, Pink Triangle, and others, with the original Goldmund Studio taking the crown for a while—and at $5k the direct-drive Goldmund also shattered the era’s price ceiling. (It’s interesting to note that that’s roughly $18,000 in today’s money, which would make that Goldmund a relative bottom-feeder in today’s ultra-high-end world.) But through it all, Linn has kept pressing forward, ever refining its original concept, as well as morphing into the soup-to-nuts audio manufacturer we know today.

It had been years since I’d heard a new Linn, and so I eagerly accepted this review assignment to catch up with the latest from this historically important company’s signature product.

As such, it was something of a flashback when Jeremy Bicknell of Basil Audio—who graciously drove to my San Francisco home from his shop in Saratoga to deliver the unit—unboxed Linn’s latest and most affordable Sondek, the Majik LP12 ($5130 for the package as reviewed).

If I hadn’t known better, I could easily have mistaken this LP12 to be a vintage Linn, so uncanny a resemblance to the original the Majik appears to be.

What’s Similar and What’s New?

In many ways the current incarnations of the LP12—there are three tiers: Majik ($5130 as reviewed), Selekt (starting at $14,560), and Klimax (starting at $30,970)—are indeed much like the Sondek of old. But as with the Porsche 911, a similar appearance doesn’t mean that technology hasn’t advanced over the ensuing half-century. (Linn also provides nifty upgrade paths for those who start with the Majik and want to step up over time. Like automakers, the website even lets you “build your own.”)

But as I suggested, what remains of the legacy is significant, most specifically with the entry-point Majik. 

Like the original, the Majik LP12 features Linn’s classic wooden plinth (currently available in a variety of wood and finish options), a sandwich-construction aluminum subchassis, a two-piece platter, a black felt mat, a laminated armboard, and a rocker power switch. As in the past, you even need to fit an adapter to the motor pulley to play 45rpm records. There’s also that strikingly familiar three-point sprung suspension system, which still demands the patience of a saint to tweak, tweak, tweak, so that it floats freely.

It should be noted, however, that the precision of these component parts is significantly higher than those found on a Linn of old, as the company has consistently upgraded its Glasgow factory’s manufacturing and machining capabilities.

Along with the quality of parts and construction, the most significant improvements to the Majik include Linn’s patented single-point Karousel bearing and the internally mounted low-noise power supply. (Also nice, the Karousel bearing can be fitted to any Sondek ever made.)

But for some of us, what made living with the original Sondek a challenge is still unchanged. That three-point suspension has always been extremely sensitive to footfall. This is doubly true if, like me, you happen to live in a house with suspended wood flooring. For example, when Jeremy visited to install the ’table, ensure the suspension didn’t jiggle like a bowl full of jelly, and fine-tune the VTA, he might as well have been walking on eggshells. So jumpy was the Majik on my Finite Elemente Spider rack that I feared a damaged cartridge or worse.

Jeremy was a trooper, gingerly stepping to and from the Majik as he homed in on the desired VTA; but the next day I rejiggered my system so that the Linn was sitting on a much lower and significantly more rigid platform. If this didn’t entirely solve the issue, it went a significant way toward minimizing footfalls as an issue. For Linn owners, and those contemplating a purchase, lightweight and rigid support units are the key to happiness (as well as avoiding blown woofers).

Krane Tonearm

Those familiar with the Clearaudio range of ’arms will recognize the Krane ($1790 when sold separately), as it was developed by Clearaudio in partnership with Linn so that its “effective length and offset angle…ensure complete congruity with all Linn cartridges and other related LP12 components and accessories.”

A static-balanced design, the Krane “is hand assembled with high-quality, precision aluminum and stainless-steel components. It features a polished tungsten and sapphire vertical bearing with dual ceramic horizontal bearing assembly, both of which are long-lasting and provide very low friction/rotational mass.”

The Krane also includes a laser-etched scale for accurate and repeatable VTA adjustment and an azimuth adjustment combined with a fixed offset angle to ensure “perfect alignment of the cartridge and stylus.”

Adikt Moving-Magnet Cartridge

I could glean relatively little information about the Adikt. Linn calls it “an efficient and affordable moving-magnet (mm) configuration…an ideal starting point for any quality vinyl playback system, and its performance is more than a match for many expensive moving-coil (mc) designs.”

This, as you will read below, is in my view either wishful thinking or advertising hyperbole.

Playback & Wrap

My initial listening session with Jeremy the day of installation proved to be troubling. Perhaps sensing my less than enthusiastic response, he informed me that Adikt cartridge was brand new and would be much improved after 30 hours of break in. So, for the next week I didn’t listen but simply kept replaying the sides of a clean LP I didn’t mind abusing a bit until I’d added up the hours.

Eager to jump back in, and having just received Analogue Productions’ reissue of Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus, my listening notes read: “Bass has some naturalness and zip. Brass some decent separation. No depth though. The stage is flat and has little sense of air. The famed Linn toe-tap-ability is likewise little in evidence. I’m baffled.”

Moving on to Cecile McLoran-Salvant’s otherworldly take on Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” (from her latest, Ghost Song), I was pleased by the Majik’s warmth and tonal richness, but again disappointed by its veiling, lack of air and transparency, rolled off top and bottom frequencies, and simple lack of the verve, drama, and excitement I’m used to from this record.

Likewise, on the recent Giles Martin-mastered edition of The Beatles Let it Be, “Two of Us” was so veiled it sounded as if the ’table were playing behind a curtain, the bottom end lacked snap and definition, guitars were a muddle, as were vocals and dynamics.

Granted, my reference analog gear—Basis 2200 Turntable, Vector 4 ’arm, and My Sonic Lab Signature Gold moving-coil cartridge—retails for something like six-times the price of the Majik. But returning to play these LPs on that rig confirmed that I wasn’t losing my mind—or hearing. Moreover, I’ve compared other less pricey turntables in this same system—such as the Rega P6, which I deemed worthy of a TAS Product of the Year Award—against my same reference LP setup, and I was both able to discern why they were excellent, as well as appreciate why they may not have played in the same league as that Basis configuration.

Although it’s difficult to write this, I was highly disappointed by the sound of the Majik LP12/Krane/Adikt combination. My hunch is that the Adikt was holding things back here, and maybe it was not merely a hunch, because after I’d finished my listening sessions and the Majik was no longer in my home, Linn announced an upgrade to the Majik in the form of the Koil moving-coil cartridge ($1060, sold alone). Developed in collaboration with Audio Technica, I’m told it is based on that company’s OC9 design, with several Linn-specified changes made, especially to the suspension. As Linn says, “This gives customers an opportunity to make their first Sondek LP12 upgrade straight off the bat.”

I regret not having the opportunity to compare the Adikt and the Koil, because even though it’s a moderate few-hundred-dollar uptick in price, I suspect it’s much more than that on the performance front. Perhaps in the future either I or another TAS writer will have that chance.

Actually, what would be really cool would be to sit down at a Linn dealership to make not just that comparison, but to hear exactly what stepping up through the various Linn models yields in sonic improvement.

Given my respect for this iconic company, I urge anyone interested in a Majik to read my words as a snapshot of that ’table’s sound as I experienced it, and to seek the kind of listening session I mentioned to hear for himself what Linn’s latest is capable of.

Specs & Pricing

Type: Belt-drive, suspended turntable
Speeds: 33.3, 45rpm (adapter included)
Dimensions: 17.5″ x 5.5″ x 14″
Weight: Not available
Price: $5130 (as reviewed) with Krane tonearm and Adikt mm cartridge

LINN PRODUCTS LTD.
Glasgow Rd.
Waterfoot, Glasgow
G76 0EQ
linn.co.uk