I have an Interspace (for sale, unfortunately) and have never had any of the issues he talks about with hum. The finger lift is a non-issue. As far as securing the arm, get a $300 Ginkgo dust cover and nothing's going to mess with it. Nottinghams and Shelters are awesome. The 294 is truly incredible, it is rather large though. Get a Shelter 5000 or better and you are set for life.
Comments about Nottingham quirks
In this month's 2009 analog issue of "The Absolute Sound" there is a review of the Nottingham interspace Jr. that seems pretty bad. I was considering a 294 until I read how annoying most operations of the Nottingham are. The weird thing is they list the 249 as one the best recommendations even though it has the same quirks as the interspace Jr. Any thoughts?