The ancient Lingo 2 for my LP12 turntable was not providing proper voltages and the 33 and 45 RPM speeds were slightly off. Updating to a Lingo 4, Valhalla or a Linn Radikal would have been extremely expensive, and options in the U.S. were limited and would have involved shipping the whole works to someone. I am still uncertain if a Valhalla PSU or Radikal would have been possible, but the cost was prohibitive and unacceptable. After much research, I found the Zeus motor speed controller from Valhalla Electronics and decided to give it a try. This is a brief report of my experience in doing so.
Steve at Valhalla was prompt and helpful with pre-sales technical support, assuring me that the Zeus PSU would work as a Lingo 2 upgrade, and was designed for customer installation (he was right!). The instructions were very thorough and available to me as soon as I ordered so I had everything I needed ready to go when the Zeus arrived (like a plug for the oil reservoir in the LP12 so it could be inverted, along with an AC power cord). Removing the Lingo internals and installing the Zeus was easy and went very quickly. It turns out that while the old Lingo accepted a U.S. power input, it communicated to the turntable motor in "U.K. mode." The setup application that comes with the Zeus gives great flexibility, and made it easy to deal with this hybrid setup and put the U.K. values into the Zeus EEPROM configuration.
The turntable is now spinning at exactly 33.33 and 45.00 and holding those speeds very precisely. This is done with a feedback loop, monitoring the speed with an optical sensor and making adjustments if needed every 50 milliseconds. Since I went with the internal Zeus setup, I have the added bonus of now having one less box cluttering the countertop next to the LP12. This upgrade gets my highest recommendation!!
By the way, if you curious what Steve looks like, you just have to look up “Customer Service” in the dictionary — his picture is shown right there next to the definition. 😉
-Jon
Steve at Valhalla was prompt and helpful with pre-sales technical support, assuring me that the Zeus PSU would work as a Lingo 2 upgrade, and was designed for customer installation (he was right!). The instructions were very thorough and available to me as soon as I ordered so I had everything I needed ready to go when the Zeus arrived (like a plug for the oil reservoir in the LP12 so it could be inverted, along with an AC power cord). Removing the Lingo internals and installing the Zeus was easy and went very quickly. It turns out that while the old Lingo accepted a U.S. power input, it communicated to the turntable motor in "U.K. mode." The setup application that comes with the Zeus gives great flexibility, and made it easy to deal with this hybrid setup and put the U.K. values into the Zeus EEPROM configuration.
The turntable is now spinning at exactly 33.33 and 45.00 and holding those speeds very precisely. This is done with a feedback loop, monitoring the speed with an optical sensor and making adjustments if needed every 50 milliseconds. Since I went with the internal Zeus setup, I have the added bonus of now having one less box cluttering the countertop next to the LP12. This upgrade gets my highest recommendation!!
By the way, if you curious what Steve looks like, you just have to look up “Customer Service” in the dictionary — his picture is shown right there next to the definition. 😉
-Jon
The Valhalla website lists the Zeus LP12 motor speed control (with sensor) at 445 GBP. Exchange rates to US dollars will vary of course, but today that comes to $566.07. I found listings just now for Linn's Radikal (an external PSU plus DC motor) for $5,635.00 and for Linn's Lingo 4 upgrade (power supply plus DC motor) for $2,200.00.
I found that some U.K. dealers and service organizations balk at doing work on a U.S.-owned turntable due to customs issues (shipping to them and back), so that ability for me to DIY was an important factor. There must be Lingo upgrades available in the U.S., but I was not able to locate one.
I found that some U.K. dealers and service organizations balk at doing work on a U.S.-owned turntable due to customs issues (shipping to them and back), so that ability for me to DIY was an important factor. There must be Lingo upgrades available in the U.S., but I was not able to locate one.
No discount or rebate. It is sad (but appropriate) that the question must be asked. I had one email exchange with the seller asking about the product, and a brief support exchange to get the settings correct. I was very pleased with the interaction and the results and wanted to share that.
I moderate a private Facebook group and am continually amazed at the attempts to get into a private group for spamming. I am gratified to see how this group is being administered and how newbies (like me) are scrutinized.
-Jon
I moderate a private Facebook group and am continually amazed at the attempts to get into a private group for spamming. I am gratified to see how this group is being administered and how newbies (like me) are scrutinized.
-Jon
