September 2019


Best Of 2019 Blue Note Equipment Awards

Stack Audio Serene Base Board for Linn LP12
Price: £140
Click here to read the complete review.

  Blue Note Awards typically go to sophisticated products requiring gobs of engineering, mountains of esoteric and expensive parts, and a corporate track record approaching at least a decade. Stack Audio's Serene Base Board for the Linn LP12 turntable isn't like that at all. Stack is a very young company that makes an affordable and effective digital streamer and a handful of parts to upgrade most, if not all, LP12 turntables. It was my personal interest in hot-rodding my LP12 to the max that led to my review of their Serene series of mods. If you care to spend more, they have Ultimate versions of their base board and top plates that presumably offer even greater performance.

The Serene base board incorporates the sandwich damping principle I first encountered with the (now) Soundeck turntable mat and the footer plates made of the same material. Two precision machined plates are separated by a coating of what they call AVDC, that performs the vibration absorbing similar to the visco-elastic polymer in Soundeck products. Holes are machined at appropriate places for access to adjust the suspension and remove the armboard. Three adjustable feet allow for very easy leveling of the turntable. Installation of the Serene base board is simple and straightforward with 12 screws attaching it to the plinth in what can be called a very precise fit. Unlike the other component parts of the Serene series, no skills in balancing the suspension are required.

For £140 (~$170), using simple, proven technology, precision  engineering, and outsourcing manufacturing to a  company that does work for medical and aero-space  companies, Stack Audio has created a product that  enhances the Linn LP12 far beyond its modest cost. The  immediate improvement in resolution and resulting  involvement with the music will either satisfy you for  years to come or encourage you to press onward with  their additional fine products for the Linn. The  benefit is so cost effective that it bewilders me why  someone hasn't picked up this concept and become an OEM supplier to manufacturers of other components. Perhaps this Blue Note Award will plant a seed somewhere in the industry.

Click here to read the complete review.

Previous Annual Blue Note Awards

Product of the Year Awards 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.