New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

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Tendaberry
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New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Tendaberry »

Probably not that relevant to most of us, but due to the fact that the manufacturer of the tonearm for the Majik LP12, Jelco, closed its gates after more than 100 years in the business, Linn had to find a new supplier.
The new tonearm supplier is, somewhat surprisingly, the German company Clearaudio. But since they have 10 models in their line-up, we can assume that they know a thing or two about tonearms.
Linn went for the Clearaudio Satisfy Kardan model and the new price in Germany for the Majik LP12 is € 4.100,-
No word on when it can be delivered yet.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by ThomasOK »

I didn't put this up here in case Linn had embargoed it. It didn't say they had in the newsletter but it did mention that it will be launched in November along with more information, so I erred on the side of caution. The arm is not exactly the Satisfy. Linn says it is based on it but "has been modified to Linn geometry and specification, and improved". It is called the Linn Krane and will also be available separately but not until sometime in 2021. The Majik LP12 with Krane is going up in price but the new price lists for the US and Canada have not been published yet. Linn is attributing the price increase to the Karousel and the Krane, but the Krane seems to be responsible for most of it. The Jelco was being sold separately by Linn for $870 without arm cable (which Linn sell separately for about $360). The Satisfy in aluminum sells for $1700 in the US but in a black finish (I haven't been able to find a silver aluminum one here), so a significant increase.

Since it doesn't have a cutout in the mounting collar for the cueing device I have to wonder if the arm pillar is the right size to work in a Keel? It would make it easier to upgrade to a Keel without having to upgrade the arm at the same time.

Linn wanted to let the dealers know ahead of the official launch so that we had the information to pass on to interested customers. Linn is taking orders from dealers now with delivery expected in late November.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by V.A.MKD »

Thank you Thomas and Tendaberry for the great and in detail info ...
Good to know info for my (and also to other) favorite TT ...
Music First ...
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by ThomasOK »

Linn published the US price list and the Majik LP12 with the Krane tonearm will run $4995. This compares to the price with the Jelco arm of $4320 so a $675 increase.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Matteo »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URTkS3WuMCo

Krane LP12 / Majik DSM 4 / M140
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Charlie1 »

Can't say it does much for me - too fussy and a bit ugly.

Looks a bit less of a dogs dinner when it's not playing cos that silver cube is then in line with the arm tube.

Mind you, with that hifi rack, I'm not sure it really matters.

I like the finish on those 140s though.
Last edited by Charlie1 on 2020-12-03 10:38, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by springwood64 »

Charlie1 wrote: 2020-12-03 10:34 Can't say it does much for me - too fussy and a bit ugly.
Ha! When I saw the Krane I thought 'its a bit of an ugly brute' !

I like the visual elegance of the Akito and Ekos arms.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Charlie1 »

springwood64 wrote: 2020-12-03 10:38 I like the visual elegance of the Akito and Ekos arms.
Yeah, me too - it's gonna help keep Ittok, Ekos 2 and used Akito prices high.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by beck »

Charlie1 wrote: 2020-12-03 10:34 Can't say it does much for me - too fussy and a bit ugly.

Looks a bit less of a dogs dinner when it's not playing cos that silver cube is then in line with the arm tube.

Mind you, with that hifi rack, I'm not sure it really matters.

I like the finish on those 140s though.
I agree.

To me Linn has become very good at producing “dead” music......... I never thought that would be the case.........................
Playing cd’s…………
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Tendaberry »

I guess I have an advantage here, since I understand Finnish ;-) Anyway, he was very surprised that the delivery only took one week.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by tokenbrit »

Tendaberry wrote: 2020-12-03 11:39 I guess I have an advantage here, since I understand Finnish ;-) Anyway, he was very surprised that the delivery only took one week.
Does he say anything about what's powering the Linn speakers or, more importantly, what he thinks of the music?
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by ThomasOK »

I don't understand Finnish but I did just have Finnish winter tires put on my Tesla! I told Fredrik that anyone who thinks Slipsik is hard to pronounce should try Hakkapeliitta!

In the video the speakers are being driven by a new Majik DSM. After Fredrik mentioned that he never got much out of either headphones or Bruce Springsteen but quite enjoyed both with the Giella, I find it interesting that with this video I still don't get much out of Bruce Springsteen. But who knows what all else is involved. Having had one of those racks in for eval I can say we weren't very happy with it, the speaker cables look suspect but I can't tell what they are so I could be wrong and the ProJect photo on the wall makes it look like this could be a dealer. We have no idea what the room is like or what else is in the room.

We just received our demo Majik LP12/Krane and I have had a chance to give the arm a good looking over. (I will not be able to set up the table right away so no sonic evaluations). The good news is that the Krane will indeed fit a Keel. I checked it here and it is a perfect fit in the Ekos and Keel arm collars. The bearings seem good with 43 swings on the swing test and no free play. The finish is quite nice and the arm is relatively light. The arm collar that comes with the Krane is a touch lower than the one on the Keel but from what I see in the video the cueing device is high enough it shouldn't matter.

I don't expect it to be musically competitive with the Akito 3 for a few reasons. For one the Akitos I've been setting up for some time have lower friction than that and also appear to have beefier bearings. Then there is the fact that on the Krane the headshell bolts to the arm stub rather than being permanently attached and that the arm stub is held in place by a bolt that allows for azimuth adjustment. This all leads to there being a less rigid connection between the cartridge, headshell and arm mount. But then I never expected Linn would have a Majik level arm that was musically competitive with the Akurate level arm. However, this does mean that a person wanting to upgrade a Majik LP12 eventually all the way to Klimax level would be able to take the single step from Majik sub chassis/armboard to Keel without having to swap the arm if desired. I think that is pretty cool, even though I don't expect there will be a lot of people doing this.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Tendaberry »

The video was indeed posted by the Linn dealer in Helsinki, Audiomania. They have quite a few other brands as well.
Actually, Hakkapeliitta is one of the easier ones to pronounce, try lentokonesuihkuturbiiniapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Although the Krane isn't a beautiful looking tonearm, it doesn't look that bad either considering the design and price range. I'm sure some people will appreciate having a choice of black or silver...without having to pay extra!

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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by ThomasOK »

Tony Tune-age wrote: 2020-12-04 19:47 Although the Krane isn't a beautiful looking tonearm, it doesn't look that bad either considering the design and price range. I'm sure some people will appreciate having a choice of black or silver...without having to pay extra!

Cheers
I'm afraid there is no choice that I am aware of, I believe it is silver only.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Tony Tune-age »

ThomasOK wrote: 2020-12-05 00:16
Tony Tune-age wrote: 2020-12-04 19:47 Although the Krane isn't a beautiful looking tonearm, it doesn't look that bad either considering the design and price range. I'm sure some people will appreciate having a choice of black or silver...without having to pay extra!

Cheers
I'm afraid there is no choice that I am aware of, I believe it is silver only.
Thanks for the clarification Thomas. I thought since the Satisfy came in black, the Krane would be available in black also.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Hermann »

There are so many variations of tonearms available. For me the Linn design is timelessly beautiful.

I do not find the Krane beautiful. It may sound good, but the eye also wants to be pleased.
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Hermann wrote: 2020-12-05 11:28 There are so many variations of tonearms available. For me the Linn design is timelessly beautiful. I do not find the Krane beautiful. It may sound good, but the eye also wants to be pleased.
I hear you on all three statements Hermann. And needless to say, I certainly won't be trading in my Ekos SE/1 for the new Krane tonearm!

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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by ThomasOK »

Tony Tune-age wrote: 2020-12-05 05:59
ThomasOK wrote: 2020-12-05 00:16
Tony Tune-age wrote: 2020-12-04 19:47 Although the Krane isn't a beautiful looking tonearm, it doesn't look that bad either considering the design and price range. I'm sure some people will appreciate having a choice of black or silver...without having to pay extra!

Cheers
I'm afraid there is no choice that I am aware of, I believe it is silver only.
Thanks for the clarification Thomas. I thought since the Satisfy came in black, the Krane would be available in black also.
Actually, there are four versions of the Satisfy currently listed: carbon fiber, aluminum, and wood in either ebony or satiné.
However, the photos show a black aluminum so it appears there are five. Luckily Linn was able to choose one, apparently unlike Clearaudio who seem not to know what a tonearm should sound like.

As to the looks, they already seem to be quite polarizing with one poster on the Linn club saying "the aesthetics of the Krane are hard to dispute" followed by another calling it "fugly as sin". My thoughts are 1) I'm more interested in how it performs, 2) to me tone arms are more forms follows function and few of them are what I would really call beautiful, 3) there are more ugly arms than attractive arms and the ones that are the most beautiful don't necessarily perform well and 4) of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I find it OK, but really no less or more attractive than the Jelco and probably more attractive than the ProJect (although my bias against carbon fiber in this application and the watermelon seed finger lift might be influencing this opinion).

I just thought of another thing. Does anyone think the name Krane would denote beauty, at least when applied to a metal framework (as opposed to the bird).
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Re: New Linn Majik LP12 tonearm (again)

Post by ThomasOK »

Tendaberry wrote: 2020-12-04 12:22 The video was indeed posted by the Linn dealer in Helsinki, Audiomania. They have quite a few other brands as well.
Actually, Hakkapeliitta is one of the easier ones to pronounce, try lentokonesuihkuturbiiniapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas.
I finally got around to looking up that word (more like a sentence in disguise) and the google search immediately popped up with a list of the ten most difficult Finnish words to pronounce. You obviously picked the worst but I don't quite understand why Viro and psykologia made the list. I mean, you need to know how to roll an R for Viro and that they y in psykologia is pronounced like a u, but those don't seem all that hard compared to your jet engine mechanic word. Sorry for the off topic.
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