LOUDSPEAKERS: Does the Totem Mani-2 still rate as one of the ...

up radio-frequency noise and feeding
it into the system through the ground,
and it also prevents certain components,
particularly digital components, from
radiating digital noise where it can get
into places it shouldn’t. Though some
power cables have price tags that can
induce cardiac arrest (another reason
they use hospital grade connectors,
perhaps), some affordable ones offer both
shielding and good connectors.
Shielded power cables, by the way,
have generally more capacitance than
the cheap cables that no doubt came
with your gear, and that is already
enough to filter out a little of the high
frequency hash that comes from the
power company. To finish the job it’s
useful to add a good power filter, but as
you already know good ones don’t come
cheap. Some of them, what’s more, can
actually make your system sound worse,
hence the warning from some experts. In
particular, filters that limit current can
adversely affect power amplifiers.
And we haven’t yet gotten to the
speaker cables and interconnects. If
you’re using the cheap junk that is avail-
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able free or almost free, then changing
it is virtually an emergency measure.
I have just completed the removal of
the Valhalla board, AC motor, switch and
associated cables on a Linn LP12 turntable
and replaced them with the Origin Live
Advanced DC motor kit. The results are
nothing short of impressive and seem (by your
description) to be very similar in character to
the improvements realized with the Lingo
I was wondering if you had ever heard
the mod, and how it compares to the Lingo.
I’m sure Linn is not in favor of this type
of behavior but I would guess some UHF
subscribers (like me) wouldn’t mind seeing a
comparison of the available PSU options that
can drive the LP12. Considering the cost of
Lingo upgrades, these alternative mods start
to look pretty good.
Nick Dudley
PORT COQUITLAM, BC
Nick, many years ago we did a direct
comparison between a stock Linn LP-12
and an LP-12 that had been upgraded
with a subchassis made from a more
exotic material. The one with the new
subchassis sounded better. Now here’s
where it gets interesting. One of our then
staff members, Henry See, was looking
for a good turntable, and he was offered
either of the Linns at the same price.
Despite the fact he had participated
in the comparison, he chose the stock
Linn.
Now why would he do that? He
explained the reason for his choice:
the upgraded LP-12 did sound audibly
better, but it wasn’t a Linn anymore.
There was reason to believe that Linn
would be offering more upgrades in the
future — indeed it already was — but if
Henry bought the modified LP-12 none
of those upgrades would ever be available
to him. In retrospect he was right.
Today’s Linns, even those that have not
had the full tilt upgrades, sound way
better than the modded LP-12 Henry
turned down.
To be sure, what was true then may
or may not be true in 2006. Linn’s turntable
sales are today a tiny fraction of its
business, and it isn’t certain that future
upgrades will amount to more than
tinkering. A third party improvement
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