@sondekmcintosh Firstly, the folks at Accent on Music are first class and truly know their stuff. Secondly, when you post about LP12’s these days..on just about any audio forum, you will get LP12 haters who really have absolutely no clue about the table putting in their 2 cents worth. IF you can get a Keel at $1200-, I would jump on that immediately!
The upgrades to the LP12 are not only well worth it, but also without exception are truly upgrades in SQ. As you may know, there is an upgrade path that should be followed. That path dictates upgrading from the inside of the table out. Therefore, the bearing is the first to be done, followed by the subchassis, power supply etc., and out to the tonearm and lastly the cartridge. The new Karousel bearing is a superb upgrade and the one that I would suggest be first on your list. ( although the Keel at $1200- should be jumped on as well, if in budget!).
If you look at some of my other posts here and elsewhere, I am typically fending off the Linn naysayers who have either a) never owned or heard an LP12, but are 100% sure their Crossley is better at a fraction of the price, or b) owned an LP12 back 30-40 years ago, never could get it to work well because they worked on it themselves and managed to get the suspension to bounce once..and then had their car mechanic have a go, which confirmed their poor impression; and have now moved on to their favorite Technics.
Just laughable....:0(