Why the Majik LP12 is the best way to buy a Sondek

A Majik LP12 is a complete Sondek LP12 for $5,440. The same deck assembled from Linn’s parts list comes to $7,796. Linn prices the Majik as a package, and that saving carries through when you add the upgrades most owners choose first.

Linn offers the Majik LP12 in standard boxed configurations with either of two Linn cartridges, the Adikt moving magnet (MM) or the Koil moving coil (MC). Each comes in Walnut, Oak, Cherry, Rosenut or Black Ash at the same price.

• Majik LP12 MM with Adikt cartridge: $5,440
• Majik LP12 MC with Koil cartridge: $5,640 (our most popular)

Pearl Audio has been a Linn dealer since 2006, and the Majik LP12 is the deck we recommend most often as a starting point. Every part in it is current Linn production, and every part can be upgraded later on the same plinth. The plinth, the platter and the Karousel bearing are the same ones Linn fits to the Klimax LP12; what the Majik economizes on is the power supply, the sub-chassis, the arm and the cartridge, which is exactly the list of things you can change later. The prices below are Linn’s US retail prices.

Majik LP12

A Majik LP12 is a Sondek LP12 with the Karousel bearing, fitted as standard with the Majik Sub-Chassis, the Majik LP12 Power Supply, the Krane tonearm, the Solid Base and an Adikt or Koil cartridge. Bought one part at a time, the same deck costs $2,356 more.

	Majik LP12 MM	À la carte LP12
Sondek LP12	$5,440 for the package	$3,245
Karousel bearing	included	included
LP12 Lid	included	included
Solid Base	included	$247
Majik Sub-Chassis	included	$591
Majik LP12 Power Supply	included	$740
Krane tonearm	included	$2,050
Adikt cartridge	included	$923
Total	$5,440	$7,796

The Majik LP12 MC is the same deck with the Koil moving coil in place of the Adikt: $5,640 as a package, against $8,123 à la carte, a saving of $2,483.

Two rows deserve a second look. The Karousel bearing comes in every new Sondek LP12. When owners bring us older LP12s, it is the upgrade we fit most often, at $1,300, and the one that changes the deck most. And the Krane tonearm, which has come with every Majik LP12 since early 2020, is a Linn-specified arm built to Linn’s geometry; it replaced the bought-in arms of earlier Majik decks and is a real step up from them, which is one reason the current Majik package is a better buy than the one of a decade ago.

Majik LP12 with Lingo

The Lingo power supply is the upgrade to make first. Linn describes it as the first step up from a Majik-level deck, and it changes the part that governs speed, and so pitch: the current Lingo, the fourth since 1990, borrows the Radikal’s speed management, checks the platter on every rotation and recalibrates the motor each time it is switched on. About 70% of the Majik LP12s we sell leave with the Lingo. On a Majik LP12 MM it brings the deck to $7,945; the same deck à la carte is $9,561.

	Majik LP12 MM with Lingo	À la carte LP12 with Lingo
Sondek LP12	$5,440 for the package	$3,245
Karousel bearing	included	included
LP12 Lid	included	included
Solid Base	included	$247
Majik Sub-Chassis	included	$591
Lingo power supply	$2,505	$2,505
Krane tonearm	included	$2,050
Adikt cartridge	included	$923
Total	$7,945	$9,561

Both decks are set up in our showroom, a Majik LP12 with its own power supply and a Majik LP12 with the Lingo, so you can hear the difference side by side.

Majik LP12 with Lingo and Kore

After the Lingo comes the Kore, the bonded aluminum sub-chassis fitted to the Selekt LP12. Added to a Majik LP12 MM with the Lingo, it brings the deck to $9,425; the same deck à la carte is $10,450.

	Majik LP12 MM with Lingo and Kore	À la carte LP12 with Lingo and Kore
Sondek LP12	$5,440 for the package	$3,245
Karousel bearing	included	included
LP12 Lid	included	included
Solid Base	included	$247
Kore Sub-Chassis	$1,480	$1,480
Lingo power supply	$2,505	$2,505
Krane tonearm	included	$2,050
Adikt cartridge	included	$923
Total	$9,425	$10,450

Two smaller options at purchase: the Koil cartridge, $200 more as the Majik LP12 MC, and the Trampolin base board, $346. The Koil is Linn’s entry moving coil, introduced in 2022 as the first step up from the Adikt, and it is why the MC package is the one most of our customers choose. The Trampolin earns its place when the deck sits on furniture or a suspended wooden floor; on a rack that isolates well, the Solid Base is usually the better choice.

The Arko tonearm and the Radikal power supply are each a larger step than the rest of a Majik deck. Both fit the same plinth whenever you are ready for them.

Build your own

Our Build your LP12 page prices any combination of plinth, tonearm, cartridge and power supply, and starts from the Majik LP12 package whenever that comes out lower. Every LP12 is set up by the dealer who sells it, and Linn is particular about that for good reason: Russ Sherrell, our LP12 master, builds almost all of the LP12s that leave here, he and John Loranger have each built them for more than a decade, and five LP12s are set up in the Portland showroom. Call (503) 222-2599 or write to sales@pearlaudio.com to arrange a listen.

See also: Bringing an older LP12 up to date · A 1990s LP12 with a Lingo and an Ekos: three ways forward · Keeping a Klimax LP12 current.