The SP12 is superb. I am not convinced that B&O cartridges really got much better - just a lot smaller and neater. The only thing about the 1200 series is that the isolation from sound and vibration is not nearly as good as the later decks. I would tend to use a wall bracket.

I remember it being faster than the 4000 but not uncontrolled. Maybe my house is colder!

I would wait till it has a JVC and Akai on top as well and is $50! It will be on the bottom because it is the heaviest! The lid can take it! I remember my dealer showing me how strong the 4000 lid was by standing on it!

[quote user="Evan"] @ Peter, I've never lived with a record deck before so I might not have noticed the inconvenience since I'm not used to it! Plus I bet I would hardly use one even if I had it. Also, I feel like the hingy-lids wold leave some sort of braketry behind after the lid is removed - ruining the look regardless...? [/quote

The lid on the 2000 simply slides off so if you want no lid, no problem. Once you have used a record player for a while, you will want the lifting lid!!

I thought you might have issues when I saw it on the table - mine is wall mounted and this made a big difference to vibration sensitivity - the bass seemed better which I imagine was down to increased isolation.

That is why it is called the Encore - it is not just a BS5 head unit - you will note it is slightly thicker! The operating software is in the BS5 Encore. It does lose some features of the normal BS5/BM5 but obviously gains as well.

Will this still work though? I don't see how you can convert modern signal to the original signal required for this age of set. The observant at Walthamstow surely has a point - I am sure it works electrically but could you actually use it - I would suggest that this is actually slightly academic as it is clearly a museum piece.

Have a look at the 2000 - the lid hinges - much more practical!

I think you are very wise! The MMC20 range do seem a little more sturdy than the MMC1-5 range but one only needs to look at Soundproof's story of the supporting plastic breaking to realise that removing cartridges should be done as little as possible!