Dear Scott,
We appreciate the alert. That is a very fine turntable, and the option of adjusting the suspension from above takes the hassle out of having a suspended subchassis. I wish the pictures were better so one could discern what arm and cartridge it is. I'm thinking it's an older Sumiko arm and an AudioTechnica cartridge, but I can't be sure. That turntable is known for its beautiful finishes, and this one seems to live up to this reputation. I did some upgrading on one of these a few years ago for a friend, and we both felt it achieved a sound just a very small notch below an LP-12.
But pride (and truth) compel me to say it could never be tweaked to where it would live up to that AR ES-1 with all the Merrill mods you got from me.
Still, for someone wanting a turntable that is truly high end, and can be taken up and up with a better cartridge and eventually a better arm, this is a great place to start--considering that this one is already ahead of the usual starting point.
And isn't the grain of that oak a work of nature's art?
Thank you for the notification,
Baumli