Linn Klimax LP12

If you are a normal person (and in this case, ‘normal’ simply means you are not intimately aware of the details of half a century of consumer audio), the Linn LP12 can be a somewhat confusing device. As a case in point, Sound Advice has looked at an LP12 before and you can read that review here. In fact, take a moment to read it - because it will help with understanding this one. It’s fine, I’ll wait.

You will note that the ‘Selekt’ LP12 detailed in that review cost £11,220 at the time of writing (£11,720 now) and is a belt-driven, suspended turntable. The ‘Klimax’ LP12 you see here is a belt-driven, suspended turntable that effectively looks the same but costs a whopping £32,200. To understand why this is, you must first appreciate that while both turntables look the same, they have almost no parts in common. 

This means that where the Selekt LP12 uses an AC power supply for the motor, the Klimax uses DC supplied by the ‘Radikal’ power supply (in the beautiful casework that also features on the Klimax Solo power amplifiers). Instead of the cast ‘Kore’ subchassis used on the Selekt, the Klimax has a device called the Keel SE (itself an update of the original Keel). This is similar in appearance, and identical in function, to the Kore - but it’s machined from a single piece of aluminium, with a very complex series of pockets and indentations in the underside to better control resonance. The result of both of these changes is less vibration reaching the playing surface, and better control of the relationship between the arm and the platter. 

With this done, the Klimax then swaps out the Arko tonearm for an Ekos SE - this is the flagship arm in Linn’s inventory. It includes niceties like a machined titanium armtube to control resonance, and ultra-low friction bearings to ensure its movement is seamless. At the business end, you’ll find an example of the flagship Ekstatik cartridge. Representing everything that Linn knows about designing cartridges, it includes features like a sapphire cantilever and a body that is designed to partner with the Ekos SE for perfect resonance control (and, thanks to Linn using a three-bolt mount for their arms and cartridges, will also automatically align). 

The Klimax LP12 also has a feature that is entirely absent on the Selekt. Tucked neatly into the bottom of the plinth is a phono stage called Urika - this means the Klimax LP12 presents a line-level signal (or, if you’re all in for Linn, a digital one via the Urika II) and needs no additional hardware to function. It’s an absolutely magnificent piece of packaging.  

Now, this is the really important part: if you own a Selekt LP12, you don’t have to trade it in and buy a complete Klimax model. Every component that serves as a point of difference between the two models can be added to any LP12 ever made. It would almost certainly have cost Linn less to develop a fresh turntable that had all the Kimax features, but that would undermine the key concept that an LP12 will be the last turntable you ever buy. 

Sound Quality 

In case you were thinking that understanding how two turntables that look so similar can be separated by twenty grand of clear air is a challenge for an outsider, I can assure you that it can be momentarily head-scratching for a professional reviewer too. Subconsciously one assumes something so similar in appearance and operation to a device already tested must be fundamentally the same - so it’s somewhat mind-bending when one begins to listen to the Klimax in earnest. 

The key element that separates truly high-end turntables from their more terrestrial brethren is how long they delay the onset of congestion in complex and challenging passages of music. This congestion manifests gradually - but before too long there is a perceivable limit to the information being resolved. The Selekt LP12 is able to delay the onset of this congestion to an impressive degree - even when judged strictly at the asking price, it’s a formidable performer. 

The Klimax, though, is in a different space again. At no stage of testing, with even the most complex and busy recordings, does it even suggest this might be a thing - it simply resolves the information and processes it in a way that is utterly free of any sense of it being impinged. What this means is that incidental detail that would otherwise be lost in the bigger picture of the performance is still perceivable, artfully worked into what you hear. It’s never a distraction or over-emphasised, but it enhances the realism of what you hear.

This is boosted further by a level of tonal realism that is truly outstanding, even judged at the asking price. Across a wide range of instruments and the endless variety of the human voice, the Linn is unfailingly believable and genuinely superb across everything I play on it. You can reasonably point out that the £6050 asking price of the Ekstatik cartridge is an awful lot of money - but it’s rather harder to argue that the partnership it forms with the Ekos SE is anything short of truly sublime. 

Being at my most critical (and I’ve really had to be in order to avoid this entire review sounding like a Linn brochure), it is possible to argue there are other turntables at this elevated price that can manage slightly deeper, more defined low-end reproduction than the Klimax LP12 can. The bass on offer here is taut and controlled, but never truly seismic. It’s also worth noting that by the time you spend this much money on a turntable, there are solutions that apply some serious engineering to issues like end-of-side distortion and other bugbears of analogue that the Linn is technically affected by. I’m not saying these marvels of engineering are necessarily better, but they might scratch those particular itches you might have. 

The thing, though, is this: I have tested some of these turntables and I’m not completely convinced they can actually better the Linn at the business of extracting joy from the music you play. This is more than the simple ‘gets your head nodding’ trope that the Linn has earned a reputation for. Even on material that’s positively glacial in tempo, the Linn delivers a level of emotional engagement that is less a function of it being a high-end device and more it being something that excels at the business of making music - and this is an ability that doesn’t necessarily correlate to price. What’s interesting for me is that I have, at two different points, owned an LP12 - both of which were far more modest in specification than this device and, whatever their absolute limitations, were unfailingly good fun to listen to. I’d argue with a straight face that the Klimax gets closer to this sense of fun than the Selekt does. 

Living with the Linn Klimax LP12

Setting up an LP12 is not the work of a moment - but neither should it be your moment. Buy one from an authorised dealer and they will make the magic happen - in this case the very talented Jon at Ripcaster does the honours. Once dealt with, the Klimax shares one positive attribute with every other LP12: compared to most high-end turntables, this is an admirably compact device with a sensible footprint. It’s completely and utterly unintimidating to use. What’s more, that long sapphire cantilever on the Ekstatik is protected by a lid (which is less of a given on a thirty grand turntable than it is on a £300 machine). 

It's no less beautifully made and finished than its Selekt relative (although you could churlishly argue that, as the basic design is so similar, it doesn’t necessarily feel any more special than the lesser model). It’s available in a host of different colours and finishes, with fluted and unfluted plinths (and one Linn calls Bedrok, designed to improve performance still further) - be assured you can have one to match the room it’s in. 

And then there’s the longer term. Unlike most of its rivals, you can be sure whatever Linn has planned for the LP12 in the future, those updates will fit your LP12 and allow you to keep it evolving. Linn sells certainty as part and parcel of the LP12 - and when we think about our own money, that’s a nice thing to have. 

Conclusion 

The end result is something that makes infinitely more sense when you’re parked in front of it than the notion of paying a respectable car’s-worth of money on a turntable that’s been in production for over half a century. This is the ultimate expression of Linn analogue, and it can trade blows with pretty much anything else at the price while still being an absolute pleasure to live with. The Klimax is comfortably the best iteration of the LP12 yet, and a formidable offering even at the asking price. 

Listening Notes 

‍Boards of Canada Inferno 
Another outing for the unique house sound of Boards of Canada, and the Linn is able to capture the scale and punch of the record but also the warmth and humanity of these shifting soundscapes 

Eliza Shaddad The Woman You Want
The jewel of this album is In the Morning (Grandmother Song). On most turntables, it’s emotive - on the LP12, it’s a work of almost spellbinding power, the technical excellence being secondary to the sheer passion on show 

Biffy Clyro Only Revolutions 
Not a recording for the ages, but huge fun nevertheless. The Klimax actually proceeds to be more forgiving than the Selekt is with the same record, which means nothing from your collection should be off-limits

The Linn is a high-end listening experience delivered with flair and practicality. If that sounds like a bit of you, you should make a beeline for it. If you don’t happen to have thirty grand to spare, you can come in at a lower point and know that this magnificence is obtainable in time.

The Linn will play nicely with anything with a line-level input (and worked outside the Lin ecosystem throughout my review)… but you’d be remiss not to type ‘Klimax’ into the Sound Advice search bar and see what your options look like from there.