PRODUCTS

Stereophile USA, Analogue Source Component 2004 -
Sondek LP12
December 2004
"It was the Linn Sondek LP12, launched more then 30 years ago, that absolutely ran away with this year's prize. It won the most total votes in any single category this year. Powered by the Lingo and suited up with the Ekos tonearm, Akiva cartridge and Linto Phono preamp, the LP12 had Michael Fremer just a little bit in awe. ' A legend can be intimidating' MF wrote, 'especially when it's a classic, a revolutionary, an iconoclast, a survivor.' And, yes, the LP12 is all of this without the bling, simply keeping it real for generation after generation."

Audiovideorevolution.com, USA, Top 100 AV Products of 2004 -
Sondek LP12
December 2004
"The first and last turntable AVR will ever review. The player is so finely tuned and over-engineered that it can bring a dead audio format literally back to life right before your ears. AVR editor, Bryan Southard, can?t stop going into San Francisco to buy used LPs each weekend."


Audiorevolution.com (USA) -
Sondek LP12
August 2004
" I found myself reinvigorated and more excited about my music than I have been in years. I have heard LP players from several top contenders, some costing many times more, yet found the set-up, operation and sound of the Linn LP12 to be over the top. It?s the first high-end LP player the market saw and would be the last player you would ever have to buy. I will pay the Linn LP12 the ultimate compliment ? I?m purchasing it. Why? I can?t imagine my life without it ? it?s that good."

Michael Fremer, Stereophile -
Sondek LP12
November 2003
" I?ve spent the past eight years listening to all manner of analog gear, from a $29,000 phono section to a $74,000 turntable. I?ve heard some astounding stuff, and I own some that?s pretty good. I can?t step into this review and tell you that my life has been changed by listening to the LP12, that formerly I hadn?t ever found the Holy Grail but that now, for the first time, blah blah blah. I can tell you that...the L P12 is an outstanding piece of mechanical engineering undiminished by time...This may be a review of a system, but the LP12 is still the central component, and it?s somewhat intimidating writing about the turntable that, in 1972, turned audio upside down and sent turntables back to belt drive. Three decades later, the LP12 continues its strong hold ...Everything its fans say about it is true: It can carry a tune, it?s well -paced, and it has impressive bass extension and supple and believable bass transients. More important, the whole Linn picture hung together seamlessly, as you should expect from any front-end rig costing more than $10,000. The system, as reviewed, was super-quiet. It didn?t sound soft or mushy in the bass, nor did it sound old-fashioned. It had a rich, believable midband and fast, clean high-frequency transients. The soundstaging and imaging were excellent?.The Sondek LP12 remains in production because it was a good design to begin with, has since only improved, and is still competitive in its price class and beyond?especially when combined with Linn?s ancillary products. It was a system I could easily live with because it made music that was believable."