Linn LP-12 compared to TW Acustic, SME, Nottingham

dg, when I was purchasing my 1st TT, the two final choices were Raven One and Nottingham 294. Raven One sounded awesome, with authoritative bass and really fleshed out sound. (The carts I heard with it were SS Strain Gauge and Dynavector XV1S, on Graham Phantom.) I also heard Nottingham 294 with the 294 arm, with EMT JSD-6 cart. There wasn't that bass grip that the Raven One had, but there was a top-to-bottom fluidity of sound with the Nott 294 that was easier on the ears than the Raven One. (One caveat: please take these comments with a grain of salt, since I did not test these tables under identical acoustical situations.) If I had to make the same decision right now, I'd get the Nottingham 294, which costs less, and swap out the stock arm for a Moerch DP6 12" arm or something. Then you'd have a lot of cash left over to spend on cart or LPs. I understand that mine may be of the minority opinion, but there it is.

P.S. - incidentally, I ended up with La Platine Verdier with the terrazzo plinth. Suits my music & listening preferences better than the TW & couldn't be happier... but still to this day, I sometimes think if I'd gone with Nottingham 294/Moerch DP6 combo, I can't shake off the feeling that I could have come pretty close to the kind of liquid musicality I'm getting with my Verdier.

Rossb's comments seem very helpful. The Nottingham arms get the job done, but are not trustworthy... I believe one of the dealers in the UK (Walrus, I think) recommends the Moerch arms with Nottingham 294 and Hyperspace, which was the reason why I wanted to try the combo. Moerch DP6 is a killer arm for the money, although on-the-fly VTA adjustments aren't possible... but the wands are replaceable. Very handy if you have multiple carts and you want to swap them.