THE KAROUSEL BEARING - A WEEK ON FROM OUR LINN KLINIK
/It’s been a week since our Linn Klinik in-store Karousel event, and we thought we’d provide you with an update on how it went, as well as some comments from our customers who have already had the new bearing fitted. If you’re thinking about it but not 100% sure yet, maybe this will seal the deal for you?
The Karousel bearing, in all its glory!
Out of all the people we had come in for the Klinik, two-thirds of them put in their Karousel order before leaving. The others were impressed and will look to upgrading in the future, after a bit of saving. One of them is now looking into getting a whole Linn Majik system in the future, off the back of hearing it on the day.
Using our Klimax system, the Karousel excelled [you can find details of this system here]. One customer brought in a very old record, let’s just say it was ’well used‘ and he said “struggles to play quietly wherever I’ve tried it” and it played superbly. He was shocked at how clean and clear it sounded in comparison to playing it on his own LP12 - a deck that is no slouch! The pops, crackles and scratches were very significantly reduced, and even the few that did get through sounded sweeter, and less noticeable.
So, what comes in the box?
Inside the Karousel box
Well, obviously the bearing, but as you can see here, there is a lot more in the box! You get a new inner platter, as well as; new suspension springs, grommets (large and small), an earth wire with tags, suspension lock nuts, a P-clip, and more than enough oil. A pretty impressive haul for not a huge amount of money!
*You will need a minimum of a Cirkus sub-chassis to upgrade, and it is not compatible with Valhalla or pre-Valhalla power supplies due to safety issues.
The inner platter from the Karousel bearing kit
One of the first Karousels we fitted was for a long time customer. After he received it back we got an update from him with his thoughts on the bearing.
“Sat here on the couch slightly stunned at what I’m hearing from my turntable. There are bass and cymbal lines I’ve simply never heard before, and it’s only been playing for five minutes”
Understandably this initial response gave us confidence in the Karousel, but you’d better believe that it only got even better… One valued customer provided us with some very detailed email updates. One on the day after installation, another one a week after, and finally two weeks after.
Here are some of our favourite snippets from each of those emails!
The day after, he said “I’m quite cynical about post-upgrade over-enthusiasm, but I think your other customer’s ‘jaw-dropping’ assessment justified in this case.”
A week later; “Having now listened to a range of types of music and recordings/pressings of varying quality, I’m in no doubt at all about the scale of the improvement, with the Karousel. Instruments and vocals sound more natural, realistic and authentic. I think it’s a bigger step forward in my system than any recent upgrade.”
And after two weeks; “Two weeks post-installation and I’m out of superlatives to describe the improvement the Karousel has made to my LP12. Not surprisingly, great recordings are better now. The biggest change however is with material that didn’t sound quite right with the Cirkus, which now makes it over the line, often by a considerable margin.”
We would absolutely agree with all of these comments, and the countless snippets of praise we’ve had from everyone. The noise floor drops away almost completely, leaving more space for each individual instrument. That’s not to say it gives an unnatural ‘3D’ sound, but you can certainly pick out more detail than with other bearings. Another benefit is that it’s less fatiguing on the ears, we can certainly attest to that having given our shop model a good run in for at least 5 full days.
As our customers have said, music that they know well is being heard in completely different ways and details that weren’t noticed before, are suddenly revealed in all their glory. We would agree with that fully, and it is a joy to listen to.
This bearing is a real testament to the work that Linn do, and despite a global pandemic happening just as they released the bearing to the public… it has not affected the demand for these at all. We get enquiries about it daily!
We can honestly say that this upgrade is easily the best value upgrade you can do to your LP12, and it is without a doubt firmly in the top 5 upgrades of all time.
If you’d like to discuss this, or any other LP12 upgrades, then please give us a call at the shop and we’ll be happy to talk through what we can do. Just remember that all of our stores are currently operating on an appointment only service.
John, Paul & Chris - Audio T Brighton
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