Linear tracking turntables, whatever happened?

@slaw, I know the Moerch arms are another favorite with Rock owners, which is surprising to me given their relatively low mass characteristics. I’ve seen listings for a Townshend Audio Excalibur II arm, but no pics. I have also heard talk of a replacement for the Rock 7, but that was a couple of years ago. The table itself has been in and out of production a LOT of times over the past 30 or so years. For those who are unfamiliar with the Rock, it is intrinsically unusable with linear tracking arms, owing to the arms’ front-end damping trough, which mandates a pivoted arm.

@bdp24 ,
Using my ET with the VPI MKIV, I realized that the spring suspension wasn't optimal. I then modified that table to use Symposium Rollerblock Jrs. That was a definite improvement in SQ but still, I felt the ET needed a solid/stable support.

I use to see the ET on SOTA tts all the time. Since I've never owned one, I cannot comment. The one thing I've learned over the years is, in audio, things aren't always black & white.

It seems I really started something here which is wonderful.
However most of it is way over my head and makes me think I must be missing out big time on my vinyl reproduction.
But then I step back take a deep breath and put a record on and think, "well if it gets better than this I am not sure I really need it!"

Keep up the banter and information as some of it is sinking in!

@ct0517  my comment of disbelief about how much they sell for was more directed at the used market where you can pick them up for around 1000$

@uberwaltz,

It's a great hobby. The idea of the stylus tracing a record exactly as the cutting head makes perfect sense. Yet there are different ways of going about it for the best sound, the least wear on records etc... If you're looking to fall in love, (as I did) years ago, just like @ct0517 mentioned earlier, "LTL", you have that outlet to explore.