Linn · Sondek LP12
Which bearing is in your LP12? A spotter’s guide
Linn has made the LP12’s bearing in three generations since 1972. How to tell which one your deck has, how each came about, and what the Karousel changes.
Every Sondek LP12 turns on a single-point bearing: a hardened spindle standing on one point in a bath of oil. Linn has made that bearing in three generations since 1972, with several quieter revisions in between, and which one is in your deck decides more about its next step than any other part. Here is how to tell, and what the answer means.
How to tell what you have
You cannot see the bearing from above. It hangs under the sub-chassis, inside the plinth, so there are two ways to identify it: the serial number, and a look underneath with the base board off. The serial number is the easy one, and our guide by serial number shows where to find it. The table below is drawn from Linn’s own service manual and product histories; the serial numbers are approximate.
| Bearing | Years | Serial number | What we see underneath |
|---|---|---|---|
| First bearing | 1972 to 1974 | below about 2,000 | Silver housing, black liner |
| Revised liner | 1974 to 1984 | about 2,000 on | Silver housing, later gold, with a white liner |
| Black housing | 1984 to 1987 | Black housing, white liner | |
| Tighter-tolerance bearing | 1987 to 1993 | about 70,000 on | Black housing, black liner; the first to run on Linn’s black oil |
| Cirkus | 1993 to 2020 | 90,582 on | A thicker mounting flange and larger bolts, on a sub-chassis twice as thick |
| Karousel | 2020 on | 150,317 on | Stainless-steel housing, held to the sub-chassis by one large lock-nut |
Two cautions. A serial number tells you what the deck left Glasgow with, not what has been fitted since: the Cirkus was offered as a kit from 1993, and a great many earlier decks have one. And if you choose “I’m not sure” in the LP12 Upgrader, that is a fine answer. We identify the bearing when the base board comes off.
How the bearing got here
The first change came early. In 1974, at about serial number 2,000, Linn changed the liner material, and for the next decade the bearing was refined in small steps. The gold-housing bearings of those years are worth knowing about for one reason: they want a light mineral machine oil, and Linn’s service manual warns that the later black oil can make them seize. It is one of the reasons we ask about the deck before anything is topped up.
In 1987 the liner was machined to tighter tolerances and the thrust pad was improved, for better speed stability. Then, in April 1993, came the Cirkus, the first complete redesign. Linn thickened the mounting flange so the housing bolts rigidly to the sub-chassis, moved the top and bottom liners further apart so the spindle cannot rock, raised the housing to hold more oil, and doubled the thickness of the sub-chassis it bolts to. Linn’s note to dealers at the time gave the reason plainly: the slightest movement between the platter and the arm can be heard.
The Karousel of March 2020 is the third generation and the current one. The housing is stainless steel, the thrust pad is coated in diamond-like carbon, and a single lock-nut clamps the bearing to the sub-chassis. It is fitted to every new LP12, from the Majik up.
Upgrading
There is one bearing upgrade, the Karousel, $1,300, and Linn makes it to fit any LP12. It comes as a kit with a new inner platter and spindle, springs, grommets and oil, so the suspension is rebuilt fresh at the same time. It is the upgrade we fit most often to older decks, and I think it is the most important one. Why the Karousel is the best value in Linn’s LP12 catalog makes the case.
Two things to know first. Linn does not allow the Karousel in a deck that still has a Valhalla, or another maker’s board, inside the plinth, so on those decks the power supply changes with it; the power supply guide covers the choices. And on a sub-chassis older than the Cirkus, we check whether it should be replaced before the Karousel goes in. Neither is a reason to wait. They are simply part of the plan.
Start with a call
Call (503) 222-2599 or write to sales@pearlaudio.com. Give us the serial number if you can find it, and Russ Sherrell, our LP12 master, or I can usually say which bearing the deck has before you bring it in.
— John Loranger, Pearl Audio
See also: Karousel · Which LP12 do you have? A guide by serial number · The LP12 sub-chassis and armboard · Bringing an older LP12 up to date.
Pearl Audio has been a Linn dealer since 2006. Our LP12 technicians build and upgrade the deck in our Portland workshop. Call (503) 222-2599 or email sales@pearlaudio.com to hear one.