CM rebuilt it by replacing the critical parts including capacitors, IC chips, crystal, bridge rectifier, thermistor, varistors, 15K resistors with new and better-rated parts sourced from RS Electronics / Element 14 / Jalan Pasar and incorporated the factory upgrade in new diode modification found in later Valhalla into it. The turntable is fitted with an early Contrology-made Valhalla but it was dead on arrival. The end result is a beautifully restored plinth as could be seen from the 2 pictures above. CM's own words are: 'S urface preparation is of utmost importance' and he set out to work on it meticulously before applying several coats of Walnut wood stain with oil and then rubbed off with plain cloth so as to give the plinth a rich colour in satin finish without use of any lacquer. To rectify these defects, lacquer on the varnished sections and black paint at its bottom were painstakingly stripped off, dent and scuffles patched with wood fillers before the entire plinth was sanded down to smoothen out any unevenness and to a fine finish. The plinth is a fluted Afromosia without corner bracing and there were some scuffles on its frontal panel, a small dent right in the middle of outer top edge behind and was mildly warped. The turntable was quickly stripped down to loose bits within some 20 minutes. It had arrived in a generally fair state considering its age and needed a major overhaul with replacement of few worn-out parts plus some restoration works, hence it was delivered straight to a friend (CM) upon own collection from Cargo Village in LCCT Sepang and payment of 10% sales tax to Malaysian Kastam. The turntable was purchased used direct from UK and has just been restored to pristine condition. The above is the latest addition to my music playback system – a 30 years old Linn Sondek LP12 turntable bearing serial number 35xxx fitted with Rega RB700 tonearm, Michell Tecnoweight and Denon DL-160 high output moving coil cartridge.

Linn sondek serial number age