Getting the best from your

LP12

As the owner of a number of LinnLP12s myself I am delighted to findthat, in this digital age, there arestill many people out therededicated to the unique andbeautiful sound of vinyl that thislegendary turntable brings. My

relationship with Ivor Tiefenbrun goes back manyyears and I am pleased to still be an officialdistributor of Linn spares in the UK. But as well asmaintaining your Linn there are a number of otherthings you can do to improve its performance, andthat’s what this short guide is all about.

Distilling 30 odd years of experience into a fewpages of useful help is no easy task! I’ve made iteasier for myself by confining the scope to theessential things you need to do in order to get thevery best from your treasured LP12, so you are ableto relax and simply enjoy your records.

Yours in Music,

Russ Andrews

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It goes without saying that you need to keep your stylus clean.We sell a couple of really effective products to help: The VPStylus Dust Buster consists of a small pot of gel, it works whenyou lower your stylus into it; the unique gel holds onto dustand dirt particles leaving the tip clean. The gel is re-usable andcan be rinsed to restore its properties, though we recommendreplacement after one year.

The Dust Buster is ideal for removing everyday dust and fluffbut mould release agent in the record groove still builds up onthe stylus into a hard black lump that causes mis-tracking. Thisblack gunge is not easily removed because very few cleanersdissolve it. Our TipTonic Stylus Cleaner is a gentle cleaner,designed to uniquely remove this mould release agent andminimise build up.

DemagnetisingYes, the cartridge does become magnetised, increasingdistortion, reducing dynamic range, soundstage and bass. TheBenz MC Demagnetiser ABCD-1 works superbly, reversing thedegrading effects of coil magnetisation. How copper coilsbecome magnetised I don’t know, but perhaps it’s themagnetised iron filing dust from the vinyl that causes theproblem – who knows? Anyway, if you want the bestperformance from your expensive MC cartridge, demagnetiseit regularly - even weekly if you use your turntable every day.Simply plug your Linn’s phono leads into the battery operateddevice and let the ABCD-1 work its magic!

Cartridge AlignmentThere are many different designs of alignment gauge available.The aim of most of them is to position the cartridge in theheadshell so that the cantilever is perfectly aligned when thestylus tip is 63.6mm and 119.5mm from the spindle; at thesepoints distortion figures should be at 0%.

If correctly aligned at these points distortion levels will notexceed 1% (+/-) at any point along the gauge. Although it istraditional to align the sides of the cartridge with the parallelcross-line on the alignment gauge, it is, in fact, the stylus tipand therefore the cantilever, that need to be aligned. If the

Keep the stylus clean

ABCD-1 MC Demagnetiser

The Dust Buster in use

TipTonic stylus cleaner in use

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cantilever is in a straight line from the centre of the cartridge,this makes the alignment task much easier. However, the stylustip end of the cantilevers of some cartridges may inclinetowards the inside edge of the cartridge after a while, perhapsbecause too much ‘bias’ has been applied in the past tocounteract the natural tendency of a pivot arm to be pulledinward to the centre of the record. If this happens to be thecase, then try and align the cantilever (rather than thecartridge) with the cross-lines on the alignment gauge.

For a simple but effective solution, we recommend the PolarisCartridge Protractor designed by Martin Bastin. It is accurate,effective and very easy to use. Alternatively, Mobile Fidelityproduces the Geo-Disc which offers an ever easier route tocorrect alignment.

Cartridge Pins/Headshell LeadsDeoxIT™ Gold is ideal for cleaning and enhancing cartridgepins and headshell leads. DO NOT, however, spray it anywherenear a cartridge. It could possibly damage the plastic body orthe coil dust cover. My advice is to spray the DeoxIT™ Goldonto a cotton bud and use that to clean the pins.

Don’t forget the headshell pins at the other end of thered/white/blue/green leads, or the arm cable plug and phonoplugs. The effect of DeoxIt™ Gold on all these gold platedcontacts is nothing short of amazing. Remember to use only alittle and to clean it off effectively too.

We also supply the excellent replacement and superior OriginLive Copper Beryllium Cartridge Clips for improvedperformance. These need to be soldered directly onto thetonearm wires and have the advantage of combining highconductivity with low tarnishing and high grip.

If your arm suffers from a lack of height adjustment you canuse the RingMat Support System which provides a RingMatand a set of spacers to fit beneath the record to achieve thecorrect Stylus Rake Angle (SRA).

Polaris Cartridge Protractor

Geo Disc

Origin Live Cartridge Clips

DeoxIt™ Gold

RingMat Support System

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Tone Arm CableOriginal equipment arm cables leave a lot to bedesired! Even the very best are just bits of screenedcable that are quite unsuitable for this application.They generally sound hard, splashy, and noisy andhave a one-note thumpy bass. Being screenedcable, they are really good at injecting RadioFrequency Interference (RFI) into the disc stage, thelast thing you want there. The disc stage is asensitive amplifier designed to accept the incrediblylow output from a cartridge. In the case of most MCcartridges that’s about 200 microvolts, similar to the output voltage from an aerial! No wonder it is common to hear radio stations in the background when you listen to LPs.

If you are lucky and the arm cable is detachable with the standard fivepin socket, a massive upgrade is available to you in the Kimber Select,Kimber TAK or RA-TAK arm cables. I believe that Kimber’s cables areunrivalled in their ability to deal with the problem of RFI.Their unique woven cable design is very effective atcancelling RFI and rejecting further RFI pick-up.

The MainsThe importance of upgrading the mains cable to yourLinn LP12, or its power supply, cannot be emphasisedstrongly enough. In my experience, the performance ofany turntable is greatly influenced by mains noise,distortion, harmonics and RFI. The electricalperturbations are converted into mechanical noise in themotor which is then transferred to the platter, and then therecord, is picked up by the stylus and becomes confused with themusic signal. The noise masks low level information, detail, phaserelationships etc. to the detriment of the music in areas such assoundstage, 3-dimensionality, rhythm and timing. Clearly then, bigimprovements can be gained from removing, or even just reducingmains interference.

Replacing your lead with one of our PowerKords™ is an essential step ingetting the best out of your LP12 – the higher up the range you go, thegreater the effect. I recommend a minimum of the PowerKord-100™.It’s likely that your LP12 has a ‘captive’ mains lead wired directly intothe plinth – use our easy-fit Male IEC connector to convert this.

RA TAK-Cu tone arm cable

PowerKord-100™ mains cable

Male IEC connector

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Once you’ve upgraded your mains cable, turn your attention toyour mains extension. We supply a range, from the PowerBar™ tothe PowerBlocks™ providing for all budgets. Go for the best youcan afford as the performance clearly improves as you go upthrough the range.

Our Silencer and Purifier mains filters will remove mains noiseand harmonics too and simply plug into spare sockets. Both aredesigned to filter in parallel to the mains rather than ‘in-line’ so donot interfere with the current flow. Use the Silencer close to yoursystem to create a ‘quiet area’ or plug them in next to sources ofmains noise such as in the socket next to a fridge or dishwasher.The Purifiers work best simply plugged into the mains blocksupplying your system.

Checking the polarity of your turntable mains supply is alsosimple and very worthwhile; it ensures that the smallestelectromagnetic field (EMF) is generated. Use the Elfix tester tominimise EMF by ensuring that the mains polarity is correctlyconnected.

Turntable MatsOver the years, a wide variety of turntable mats have beenmarketed, each claiming vast superiority over the original ribbedrubber mats manufacturers supplied as original equipment. Ifound them rather unconvincing with the exception of the LinnLP12 felt mat (Linn once supplied a rubber mat). I wasn’tsurprised at the improvement because using a felt mat was thefirst upgrade I made to my first record player (a Philips DiscJockey Major) in 1959 at the age of 13.

Felt is great but do stick it down to the platter, or it and therecord will ‘creep’ as it plays. Use double sided tape, not glue as itwill soak through the felt and wreck the performance. If you aresceptical about the ‘creep’, just stick a small tag (a cut off piece ofself adhesive label) on the record, the mat and the platter, linethem up before starting the turntable and watch them moveapart as the record plays. If the record is moving with respect tothe platter, at what speed is the record actually being played?

PowerBlock

Silencer and MiniPurifier

Elfix Polarity tester

LP12 with original felt mat

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Ringmat Developments has introduced aturntable mat that is a remarkable improvementover rubber or felt on most turntables (yes,including the LP12). It brings better bass, cleanertreble, better soundstaging and lower surfacenoise. I highly recommend it. The Ringmat isavailable separately or as part of the Ringmat SupportSystem that also contains record spacers to allow you tooptimise Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA) for any record youplay, or to set a good general setting that suits most ofyour records.

Static ElectricityThe degrading effect of static electricity on theperformance of a record is enormous. The biggest culpritis the acrylic lid. The static charge can lift the arm slightlyand reduce tracking pressure. If you dust the lid with thepickup on a record you can lift it right off the record!

Treat both the inside and the outside of the lid withReleeS® anti-static spray for best results. Treat also theplinth, armboard, tone arm, rubber mat etc. (Don’t sprayany near the cartridge!). Remember also to treat thetonearm cable with ReleeS® - it really works. An extrabonus of treating with ReleeS® is that less dust is attractedto the turntable and so less gets onto the record.

Ringmat’s excellent Statmat is a perfect solution toreducing electrostatic charges which build up as theplatter and spindle rotates while you are playing records.

Record CleaningI recommend my Russ Andrews ReVive. It uniquelyremoves the nasty-sounding mould release agent left inthe grooves of vinyl records as part of the manufacturingprocess. Alcohol-based cleaners simply won’t do this.You’ll hear more detail, lower surface noise, less sibilanceand less distortion. We have a full kit to do the job, or youcan use the solution with your existing ‘suction’ typecleaner.

Ringmat Anniversary Goldspot

ReVive Record CleanerReleeS® anti-staticspray

Ringmat’s LP Statmat and LP StatCapplaced above and below the recordwill reduce static

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Manual Cleaning Kit

SupportsThe influence of the turntable support you use on theperformance of your turntable is absolutely immense. We recommend our Torlyte™ Turntable Stands orTorlyte™ Platforms for turntables.

The Torlyte® Turntable Stand is the ultimate, nocompromise solution to the turntable supportproblem. It was the product around which the originalTorlyte® design effort was concentrated and fromwhich all other stands have been developed. Itminimises the sound degrading effects of acousticfeedback, allowing your records to sound moredetailed, musical and rhythmic. The stand is triangular,giving the greatest stability and lowest weight. Findout more about Torlyte® at www.torlyte.com

Cone FeetThe degrading effects of rubber feet are very obviouson turntables. The reasons are set out in my book‘Sound Solutions’ and the rule of 3 feet versus 4 feetexplained there works on turntables too. Use eithertwo cones at the front and one in the centre at theback, or vice versa depending on your own preference,or the dictates of your turntable stand. Our small ConeFeet are a direct replacement for the small rubber feeton the Linn LP12 and other similar turntables, but withall other equipment the larger the Cones used, themore effectively they couple your turntable to itssupport and the bigger the improvement in the sound.

Torlyte® Turntable Stand

Oak Cone Feet

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NS, UK.© Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, August 2014. Prices right at time of printing. E&OE.

Need any help?If you have any queries about our products then please contact us on the number below.

Our friendly, trained staff will be happy to assist you:

01539 797300www.russandrews.com E-mail: info@russandrews.com