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

I had a fully decked out LP12 with Lingo, Cirkus, dedicated wall shelf, etc. tweaked by a dealer, and loved it... until I brought home a VPI Scout out of curiosity. There was no denying the Scout's superiority in all areas, even those Linn is famous for, such as the toe tapping, etc. The only plus on the Linn side was not having to use a clamp. LP12's are nice, and I really did like mine, but I am sure the tables you mentioned would likely kill it.

Were the cartridges the same on both 'tables?

i own a nott horizon s.e. with a humble rega 250 arm, which is a pretty entry level table from them. i started with a benz silver high output moving coil and now use a clearaudio aurum beta s that i picked up here for a rediculously low price. to me, it does not sound entry level.
the nott philosophy is simplicity works best. you push start and stop these tables, no switch - the motor idles when not in use. the motors are very low torque, just enough to keep the platter up to speed and a heavy platter it is, said to lower vibration and increase accuracy. a lot of money goes into the bearing. notts are known to be very accurate in maintaining speed.
the whole unit only weighs about 25 lbs, so i would like some deeper bass and i know you can go up the arm food chain as well for more delicacy.
i replaced a rega with this and have had no regrets at all for the 2+ years i have had it. if i was to upgrade, i would definitely look at another up the line.

tom collins

Tom - Did you compare the Nottingham to SME or TW Acustic? Also, how does the Nottingham compare to the Linn LP-12?

I own the LP12, cirkus/Lingo with Naim ARO arm. It is a great sounding turntable, however my VPI HRX and TW AC-3 are superior.
The most noticable area is in the scale of the music. the Linn is just smaller in every way, where the VPI and TW are both bigger, wider, deeper, higher and more dynamic.
The Linn has slightly smoother upper frequencies compared to the HRX.
The TW AC-3 is just a little better in most other area's.

I think Dgad used to own one of the high end Nottingham's and he has changed to TW-AC-3 and could not be happier.

personally I will never sell the Linn, as it was it that got me into music in a big way and 2nd hand prices are not really worth selling. And it still sounds good.

cheers