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

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

dg:

no, i did not make any comparisons as this was the one the dealer had and i was so blown away with it. i forgot to mention that set up as it is on my system, it has a monster soundstage, several of my friends have remarked about this. also, i don't use the wooden plinth, but place it right on the rack, the sound was much more together when i did that. someone commented that nott arms are not the best, maybe that humble rega 250 is a really good match for that unit and some of the upscale regas would match a higher level nott well.

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.