The basic design of the LP12 still has more to give even after 45 years There is a recurring theme across many interests, activities and pastimes that unless you have owned, driven, visited, eaten – delete as appropriate – a particular thing, you cannot claim to be a true devotee of it. In my time working in and around the hi-fiindustry, a few products have been floated as the ‘must own to classify as a true enthusiast’ candidate, but one has cropped up more times than any other: the Linn LP12, which celebrates its 45th birthday this year.
During those 45 years, almost every aspect of this turntable has been altered, upgraded and fettled, but crucially the appearance hasn’t. In a world of space-age materials, skeleton plinths and rivals that…