New Demo Klimax LP12 at HiFi Cinema

The time came for a new Klimax level LP12 for our showroom – we had plenty of Trampoline base plates in stock, so ordered the new Klimax level LP12 without the base plate. What arrived was a Kit of parts from Linn – we normally get these with the sub-chassis, bearing and motor assembly etc, already installed already by Linn, however this one came with only the Top plate and hinge supports assembled, and of this ,the drive belt guide had to be removed as the speed sensor uses one of these holes… (see image below)

  The LP12 plinth and top-plate in the build jig and all parts gathered ready for the assembly. NB the Level 42 album is used to set the VTA without irony.

LP12 build:10 steps (tasks) to happiness

Task 1 – level the build jig, remove the belt guide and install the switch and motor into the top-plate.

Task 2 install the speed sensor (not forgetting the corresponding strip of black for the inside of the outer platter).

Task 3 check the sub platter support bolts and adjust as necessary to ensure they are perpendicular to the top-plate.

Task 4 measure the compliance of the springs and put them in order – strongest spring closest to the arm mount, weakest furthest away from the arm. The springs are very close and sometimes indistinguishable from eachother.

To measure the compliance of the springs I use an old inner platter as a suitable weight, and pivot this on a suitable (in this case a solder reel) item so it can press the spring down. The springs are all pushed against the centre pillar in the same orientation and a ruler used to check the relative compression – We find that doing this and placing the strongest spring closest to the centre of gravity of the moving mass (sub-chassis, Platters and Arm), and the weakest spring furthest from the centre of gravity helps dramatically with tuning up the suspension and getting the best sound out of it.

Task 5 – with the turntable upside down, install the Karousel bearing at the correct torque setting in the Keel sub-chassis, and rough-fit the Sub-Chassis, springs rubbers, washers and nuts. The turntable can then have the wiring strap (cross brace) fitted, together with earthing wire.

Task 6 – The Ekstatik cartridge is fitted to the tone arm – in this case with a 3-point fixing, there is no adjustment possible (a check with the cartridge protractor later confirms it is spot-on). The Arm can be rough-fitted into the arm board, so the arm cable can be fitted and dressed with the turntable upside-down.

Task 7 – With an appropriate amount of bearing oil added (we find about 15 to 17 drops is ideal – any more and it overflows, any less and the uppermost bearing liner has too little oil) the inner platter and outer platter can be installed, and the platter levelled via the support nuts on the underside.

Task 8 there’s a bit of an iterative process here finishing the dressing of the arm cable, sub-chassis earth wire, and adding the drive belt before “tweaking” the spring rotations and tightness for an acceptable sub-chassis position and bounce.

Task 9 add the Trampolin base plate with flet damping strips, and earth strap. At this point a close visual inspection and clean for any finger prints is the order of the day.

Task 10 adjust VTF, VTA and Bias, and listen to the result, tweaking the VTF as necessary within the acceptable range of the cartridge (in this case 2g is the target tracking force).

We’ve opted with this LP12 not to go for the Urika phono stage, but to use an external one – The first Urika we had sounded a little meh!, however I have to say more recent ones have sounded much better…

The post New Demo Klimax LP12 at HiFi Cinema appeared first on HiFi Cinema.

The time came for a new Klimax level LP12 for our showroom – we had plenty of Trampoline base plates in stock, so ordered the new Klimax level LP12 without the base plate. What arrived was a Kit of parts from Linn – we normally get these with the sub-chassis, bearing and motor assembly etc, […]

The post New Demo Klimax LP12 at HiFi Cinema appeared first on HiFi Cinema.