This year's vinyl system changes

[AnotherJohnson]

I think next year may be the 50th anniversary. Tom O’Keefe has speculated that they may be doing something special to celebrate.

I am wrong. 2022 was Linn’s 50th anniversary.

And less than a week left to celebrate.

At least I didn’t miss it entirely… and it did get the Karousel upgrade and Tom’s set up.

And … wrong yet again. Two wrongs have made a right.

Linn is treating 2023 as the 50th. Apparently the company was founded in 1972, but their production was first offered for sale in 1973.

Ken Kessler is doing a series of articles for Copper e-magazine starting with the issue released today (179 I think).

As an American who stayed in America and who tried other Japanese, German, British and American turntables, and who did not have monthly exposure to either British dealers or the British press, I came to my own conclusion that the LP12 was best … even after wanting to join in the Linn bashing that KK seems to be having a hard time holding back.

Who knows what Linn have in store for the 50th anniversary. I am looking forward to hearing (about) it.

[Wildcat]

That was fast! After seeing your posts here, I mentioned to Frank Doris that someone should do an article on the LP12 for the 50th, and it looks like Kessler put together a brief piece and squeaked it into #179.

"It’s just after the closing day of 2022, and yet – as Editor Doris pointed out – there was hardly a mention of the 50th anniversary of the second-most influential turntable of all time: the Linn Sondek LP12. Technically, February 2023 is the 50th anniversary, but the roots were planted in 1972, so – like the late Queen – two birthdays may be in order."

[AnotherJohnson]

I was surprised that Gilad took his call.

I’ll bet he doesn’t next time.

It’s a no win for Linn. KK has already shown his hand, going back to AR and Ariston.

He got one thing right and that is that a suspension is a good thing. It was for decades … but it still is. TTS don’t have suspensions for the most part nowadays because of the lack of skills at the point of sale.

[Wildcat]

I don't exactly agree with K² about everything either, but if he covers the history, some good will come of it.

Many tables today have the suspension in the form of isolation feet, so in a sense it has moved from a suspended subchassis to a set of feet on all four corners. I still think a suspended subchassis is the most efficient (my Walker CJ55 had that...it was pretty much a ripoff of Linn's design), but the feet on the Czech-table I traded in were surprisingly very effective at what they did. I could rest my hand on the plinth and not feel any vibration at all. To replicate that on the Technics, I had to get a thick wood block, rest it on some IsoAcoustics pucks, and those together with the SL-1210G's feet accomplishes the same thing even if it is a little convoluted.

[Wildcat]

I made another improvement in the vinyl rig a few weeks ago. I found a used Wayne's Audio periphery weight made for the SL1200/1210G turntable. Coupled with the Herbie's audio mat I am using, along with the center weight, it has made a noticeable difference in playback. I'm hearing more detail because just about all of the record contacts the mat now (vs. the record "floating" above the surface), and the noise floor is subtly but noticeably lower. It doesn't jump out at you right away, but you start noticing that record after record, there isn't as much background noise. If you've ever set your volume using the noise from the lead-in groove, like I have done thousands of times, it's deceiving with that noise lowered.

I've spent the past couple of weeks playing almost nothing but records, including a few recent 180g releases I wanted to buy before they disappeared. I've also noticed that the locations of performers between the speakers is more solid. The periphery weight just tightens everything up nicely. Bonus? A few warped records that were still playable now sit firmly on the platter as well. Even the sealed Van Cliburn that was a sound sheet sold by RCA (whoops...I mean, Dynaflex ) that was warped now plays rather well.

Drawback? Now I need to redo a bunch of my needledrops.

[admin]

Very nice. For very warped records, have you ever tried the oven method? Supposedly if you put the record into a 175 degree (F not C) overn for 3 minutes between two sheets of glass it should take the warp out. I've never done it myself but I've heard people have success.

[AnotherJohnson]

Very nice. For very warped records, have you ever tried the oven method? Supposedly if you put the record into a 175 degree (F not C) overn for 3 minutes between two sheets of glass it should take the warp out. I've never done it myself but I've heard people have success.

You might get the disk flat if the temperature is hot enough to get the vinyl to creep.

But if the vinyl is hot enough to creep, you’re going to deform the groove modulations too.

How much? It depends.

If you’ve got a record that is too warped to play without woofer pumping or audible wow, you can forget it, get a clamp or pump equipped TT, get a subsonic preamp filter, find another copy, or stream it if it’s available. Of course the option of baking might be free if you’ve got the glass, so if the record is already warped to the point that it’s annoying in play, and so you intend to discard it, might as well bake it first.

FWIW, I can remember only a handful of records in my collection that are warped enough to adversely affect playback.

FWIW#2, the LP12 is not compatible with pumps or clamps… even so, I have never looked at any record in my collection and proclaimed regarding the LP12 “Gee, I wish I had a clamp or pump.”

FWIW#3, I did have VPI turntables that seemed to accentuate warp. I was thrilled to spend $$$ on their outer clamping ring and to religiously use their center clamp.

To my ear, it was just more religiosity in the ritual of liturgical vinyl play. It affected the needle drop, and if it wasn’t all perfect, it exacerbated unbalance (present in more platter samples than you would expect).

[Wildcat]

I have seen a VPI with sloppy build quality. My buddy owns one from about a dozen years ago, and the threading in the clamp that screwed onto the spindle was off--if you tried to screw it down, one side would touch the label and the other was off. It took some convincing before the dealer would correct it. It reminds me of my Czech mess--overall it was built well enough, but it was the little details that just shouldn't have happened in a $3K turntable.

There is a system out there called Vinyl Flat that provides a clamping mechanism to hold the record properly, and heat can be applied to that. But to make it easier, they sell the Groovy Pouch which is a thermostatically-controlled pouch that keeps the heat very low and steady. (Just like good BBQ!) The key to success is doing it at a low-heat setting overnight or over the course of a day, to gradually work the warp out. All in, it's about $250. I wouldn't mind getting one, but I really can't think of any records that badly warped where I would need it, especially now that I have the weight. https://www.vinylflat.com/

The periphery weight does well with mild warps but I find that its true purpose (which I have been enjoying the most) is to couple the record to the mat. The aligning jig is helpful--after dropping the ring between the pins, you center it on the spindle and lift off the jig. It's done in seconds.

Seeing that many records are dished, even very slightly dished, this keeps the vinyl from sitting in free air as the stylus rides over it. I didn't realize how much the vinyl resonates until I essentially eliminated it with the weights. It is just heavy enough to work on 200g records (that was a concern of mine). On normal weight records, it has quieted down those that looked to be perfectly flat, even some of the early to mid 60s RCAs I played yesterday.

I thought of trying the Funk Firm Achromat instead, but the Herbie's mat is very similar in construction so I don't know if I would notice a difference.

[AnotherJohnson]

Seriously, I think there is something about an LP12 that diminishes the need for the tweaks like mats, weights, melters … maybe it’s the anal retentive LP12 owners who store their records vertical in an HVAC controlled environment. I dunno.

Ivor was even opposed to cleaning machines, although in later years he’s conceded that they can be useful.

Regarding VPI, I heard a story from a former Avenger owner. The platter had a visible wobble. The advice was to whack it with a hammer. “Former” owner is his preferred pronoun.

A former dealer had a long list of reasons why they’d chosen “former” too.

I think VPI and CJ are in the same boat, but CJ is doing a better job of focusing on current product quality. CJ and VPI came along at about the same time. Both companies captured imaginations. Both never grew significantly… money was not put back in the business to build the business.

40 years after the start, the founders are alive, but the reigns have been passed to new drivers come what may.

[Wildcat]

One thing I noticed in peeking into a few rooms at AXPONA is that I see fewer VPI turntables. I'm honestly not a fan of something that looks like a "contraption" but then again, I have always liked the looks of those old Micro-Seiki DDX-1000s from the late 1970s.

With VPI, I think Harry's son Mat has taken over a lot of the operations. So whether the quality concerns improve under his watch remains to be seen. (My buddy's turntable was purchased long before Mat was actively involved.) But I've noticed they have released many more models since Mat took over, getting away from the more traditional looking VPI tables from decades past. I was also never a fan of the unipivot arm, and my buddy reported that it was frustrating trying to mount a cartridge in it.

From what I've seen at shows and among many local vinyl-loving audiophiles, VPI comes up often in conversation, where C-J is not mentioned much if at all. It's not like it's unknown, but I don't think their components took off in popularity like VPI has. Yet once mentioned, others look on the brand fondly. This may have been different decades ago, though, especially when the Premier 12 was the critics' crown jewel. I like that C-J has remained independent, to be honest.

I rarely ever see dealers bring C-J components to AXPONA. C-J has never been there as a company, in the years I have attended. As large of a show as AXPONA has become (some are thinking it might be the largest show in the US now), a non-appearance means that show attendees aren't seeing the C-J brand. They are seeing Audio Research and numerous other brands when they walk into rooms. It is possible, though, that C-J just doesn't have the capacity to make more units than they currently produce now. To get a large volume of orders all at once might overwhelm their capacity.

Yet with brick and mortar dealers disappearing, that is even less of a footprint C-J has in front of potential buyers. (Since our local dealer closed up shop recently, I don't even think C-J has a dealer in our area anymore.) Current owners can only upgrade to newer C-J components for so long, and some depart for other brands just to try something new, and may not return. All of these things make me hope that C-J has the means to stick around for a while longer to either 1) not go out of business, 2) sell out to venture capitalists like other high-end companies, or 3) sell out to owners who try to mainstream the brand (or buy it just for the branding rights), to where we see start seeing gold-toned C-J bluetooth speakers and earbuds sold on Amazon.

[AnotherJohnson]

With ARC in receivership, we may see how the game plays out.

Meanwhile, don’t hold your breath for Matt to save VPI. I hope he does, but his heart seems to be at the Dojo. He is a martial arts expert, and that is his true love.

[Wildcat]

For another casualty, I'm not sure if Gayle Sanders' new company is still around or not. Eikon Audio was a no-show at AXPONA this year, which is a shame since I wanted to hear their smaller speaker. But checking for the www.eikonaudio.com site, it shows a "404" error, meaning the page was not found. There is a hyphenated www.eikon-audio.com that sells professional audio gear (recording, mixing, monitoring, etc.) but it's not the same company. That almost makes me think that either 1) Sanders closed up shop and sold the name, or 2) had a trademark issue with an existing company. His social media hasn't been posted to since last year in August. I let our editor know about it, and he has contacts that he can check with next week.

BTW, about ARC, you would think from their showing at AXPONA that everything is perfectly fine. In fact, there was a display of a half dozen of the same ARC amp, all with different color trim. That was a head-scratcher. I've noticed even a few years ago that their components have been "prettied" up. C-J really hasn't done much more than change the same faceplate style over the years, and add a few extras to surround the tubes in some of the newer products. It's not like C-J is available in designer colors, or have see-through power meters or a heads-up display that projects power meters on the wall (I'm actually waiting for some amp manufacturer to do that).

Once the economy settles down in a few years, it will be interesting to see who is left standing.

[AnotherJohnson]

The colored amps are the I/50.

I think that could be part of the problem. They were a major commitment, and they do not seem to be moving.

Jeff may look like the genius.., he is not putting any money into anything that doesn’t have a strong source of funding. He is not worrying about supporting legacy products, and when he does support them, he does not do it at a loss or break even level. He makes money.

Putting all effort into a handful of tube designs with NO BELLS OR WHISTLES, he minimizes his development investment. No giant footprint for the building. No legacy work force. No one to even reliably answer questions.

He picks his battles. He is on site producing, ie paying his own way, not paying others to produce. No wasting money on advertising or show attendance.

His style caters to high rollers who want the gold faceplate and the lucky eights. CJ is a true boutique builder.

I’ve said it before … CJ’s business model is deliberate, and for now, effective. Even if it makes some old customers angry.

Regarding Eikon, there has been no serious industry buzz since the introduction. It is hard to imagine that he would be selling enough stuff to keep the lights on.

ARC’s situation, coming directly on the heels of Axpona where they had a large presence, suggests the possibility that they were hoping for more solid orders than materialized.

It is too early to write ARC off, but they’re caught in the small size company range with a significant payroll and development costs. Maybe the Italians will come back in.

I hope this is all just a passing problem. I really like Trent Suggs. It is good when the good guys do well.

And in ARC’s case, the Feibiger era gear sounds incredible. Way better than anything I’ve heard from anyone else. I’m not biased … I pick based on buying or borrowing and comparing. Many like the REF 250 SE and REF 75SE as pinnacle products for the line. Aside from the ghost meters, triode mode, and auto bias, the REF 160 family just doesn’t seem to capture the same level of “WoW!.”

[Wildcat]

It surprised me that Eikon wasn't that well known. Gayle had rented out two rooms side by side when the speakers were still in pre-production, and there was a lot of excitement about how good they sounded. He had a suite the following year and also had a favorable reaction.

A lot of industry folks know his company and he did get good reviews in the press but I agree, there wasn't a major buzz over it. It's not like what we saw with PS Audio's room, where people were lined up prior to the show opening to get in and listen to the aspen FR20 and aspen FR30 pairs. Part of it probably had to do with resources. PS Audio has a lot of other products and a reputation behind them. Gayle was starting over with Eikon, and initially set out with only one product that many couldn't afford.

I hope it is just a setback and he'll come back in the future. I missed chatting with him this time.

[AnotherJohnson]

Paul McGowan really uses his direct marketing strategy and his vast email data bank to good effect.

Gayle did not have this. Instead he probably had a shackling noncompete agreement as part of the ML sale.

[admin]

I think PM is a great salesman. He leverages outlets like his youtube channel to discuss varying audiophile topics but he is advertising PS Audio either directly or indirectly with these videos and makes references to PS Audio equipment in just about every video. I don't mean this in a bad way, just that there is a "face and voice" to PS Audio with weekly new content being released. They also have a very active public online forum that discusses not just PS Audio gear but all manner of audio related topics. This brings people back on a regular basis and when it's time to make a purchase, PS Audio is in the subconscious. Very few companies are doing this kind of grassroots outreach. The reason why there is so much buzz around the new aspen speakers from PS Audio is because of Paul. If it wasn't for him, they would be a review in some magazine at best. The public relations efforts mixed with honestly good gear seems to be paying off.

[Wildcat]

I agree. I hate to bring up social media and "influencers" but that is exactly what Paul is doing, and what some other audio companies are not. Paul does just about all of his work via YouTube, in addition to a short daily blog post ("Paul's Posts"). It's true that a lot of younger buyers aren't as interested in high end, but if AXPONA is any indication, there is some cross-generational interest, so reaching them through other channels is key to growing business today. (A lot of the younger audiophiles are strictly into headphones.)

PS Audio's Sprout100 I believe was a brainchild of Paul's son Scott McGowan, and it was designed as a single unit that was simple to connect, easy to use, and sounded good doing it. It was meant to reach younger generations who aren't into the separate components as we are. There is also the possibility that if someone buys a Sprout today, they might buy a Stellar stack in the future, or go all out for the BHK/DirectStream products eventually. Or they might be perfectly happy with the Sprout and recommend it to friends. Either way, the company's name is out there.

Not all companies may need social media, but it's also good (and often free) advertising, and it is growing a set of future customers who trend younger. Someone has to replace all of us when they bury our generation with our C-Js and tubes.

[admin]

Completely agree with you. I don't think they created the sprout to get rich (although I'm sure it does make a profit) but rather to get young people or those on limited budgets inducted into the PS Audio brand. The sprout is a really great bargain when you look at all the things it does and comes from a reputable high end brand.

[Wildcat]

From what I understand, the Sprout100 isn't a loss leader, but they kept the profit margin slim so it could remain as low in price as possible. That is why it rarely goes on sale, and even if it does, it's not much of a discount.

At $800 it seems expensive for what it is. But if you look up a decent quality receiver or integrated amp from the late 1970s and adjust it to 2022 dollars, it's actually right in the ballpark if not less.

At AXPONA, a seller in the marketplace had about a dozen vintage receivers that were immaculately restored. The Marantz 2216 was listed for $999. I looked up the 2216 and found the original list price and the year it went on sale (1977?), and it would have cost us over $1,150 in today's money.

[AnotherJohnson]

At AXPONA, a seller in the marketplace had about a dozen vintage receivers that were immaculately restored. The Marantz 2216 was listed for $999. I looked up the 2216 and found the original list price and the year it went on sale (1977?), and it would have cost us over $1,150 in today's money.

How many did he still have at the end of the show?

I’m curious to know if there is actually a market for this stuff.

The electronics I bought in the ‘70s was already getting repairs by the ‘80s. Repairs of the ‘60s McIntosh I was trading were already thwarted by parts scarcity in the ‘80s.

It all looks like a game of musical chairs to me. The one holding the device when it’s no longer repairable is the loser.

Meanwhile, back at the Sprout, VPI had created their Scout series at an entry level to attract people to the brand. They also dabbled in low cost phono equalization as an attraction to vinyl. I can’t say how it turned out, but lack of solid QC is a serious negative if you’re trying to build customer loyalty.