I think it's a toss-up, FWIW. Tweaking these tables is fine and you do pick up something for the efforts. But I don't think either really stands out over it's rival.
If you like the Music Hall I would suggest looking at the MMF 7, which I think is the strongest table in the Music Hall line. You get the advantage of a seperate motor pod, a better model of the Pro-ject arm and a better platter. I owned one for a while and really liked it. There are several things you can tweak; upgrade the tonearm cables, upgrade or loose the RCA connectors altogether, swap the cone feat for some good brass ones. You could probably do these to the MMF 5 as well, but there is a lot to be said for that seperate motor. Watch the used market here and try to snag a MMF 7 used. That is the best bang for the buck IMO. Brand new, I'm not so sure.
I did some research about mounting a Rega arm but to do it right would have meant heavily modifying the plinth. I chose not to do that since I knew I would be selling the table at some point. Granted there are some cartridges that won't mate well with the Project 9, but there are many very good cartridges that will. Now you might just drop in a Linn arm with no problem, but I wouldn't know which one to suggest.
I love Guiness but I have to watch my weight. So it's Jack and Diet Coke for me. Nascar is on!
