A "house sound" among turntable manufacturers ?

Johnnyb53: You can always buy the Origin Live armboard and mount up a modified Rega on a Technics 1200, or there are a number of DJ houses that modify 1200's to accept SME arms (V,IV). I am going to buy a modified RB250 or RB300 arm that has been rewired and see how that works out, and maybe a KAB external Powersupply. Even with the Shelter 501 Mk II cart and phono preamp I will be cheaper than the Music Hall table and arm.

Interesting. No one has actually come close to answering the question asked.

The original "ADD" Audiophile Deficit Disorder

Hi all,

It's certainly a simple matter to significantly alter a turntable's sound by either setup variations or tonearm and cartridge swaps.

In the 1990's I owned a Merrill - first trying to run my SME V tonearm on it. The sound was fairly lifeless, no matter what I tried.

At the time, I was in communication with two other Merrill owners who shared that observation of the Merrill/SME combination.

Now, the Merrill is more flexible than most suspended turntables, in that it provides for shifting the turntable's center of mass to compensate for tonearms of differing weight.

In spite of the, the Merrill does appear to be sub-optimal with the SME tonearm, and if you heard this combination, you would not even get a hint of the potential of the Merrill.

I cover this topic a bit on my FAQs page, mentioning that in general, you'll run into fewer outright tonearm incompatibilities with a non-suspended deck.

Of course, there are infinite ways to make good parts combinations sound bad. With a Schroder tonearm for example, a screw that's just a wee bit too loose or too tight will alter the sound dramatically.

If I were a betting man (which I'm not), I'd guess that most turntable designers have a fairly consistent musical aesthetic which they express throughout their line (I certainly do). If you heard components selected by them and set up by them, you'd hear a family sound.

OTOH, if you hear a rig set up by anyone else, it's likely to be a pig in a poke.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Rnm4: Before reading your comment I had the same thought, so I smiled to myself when I read it. Hopefully, some info will emerge that's more in line with my question. In any event, I'm comfortable with the notion that others feel free to do their thing. Some will find their comments interesting and helpful too.