The Rock just requires one extra step in playing an LP---swinging the trough over the record, which is no big deal. The concern people have about the damping fluid in the trough spilling onto an LP is unwarranted---it's very thick and gooey, not thin and watery, so doesn't "slosh" out of the trough. The "paddle" (it's actually a hollow tube) that is submerged in the goo never leaves the trough, so it doesn't drip any goo onto LPs.
Ergonomically, the biggest inconvenience of the trough is it's being in the way of the stylus for 1- cleaning it, and 2- visually cueing it to a mid-LP groove (the beginning of a song in the middle of an LP side), which I rarely do.
If you really want to have damping in a pick-up arm (almost mandatory with Decca/London cartridges IMO), the headshell is the most efficient and effective place for it. I've read that the research and development of the original Cransfield Rock was predicated on it's use specifically with the Decca cartridges of the time, and it's design was influenced by the needs endemic to the cartridge. But what is good for Deccas/Londons is also good for other low-compliance cartridges.
As for not being a set & forget record player, sure, it's not like, say, a Rega. But neither is any other high-performance table; think about what owners/users of the Eminent Technology linear-tracking arm have to go through to maintain that arm's performance. In comparison to an ET, the Rock is a breeze!
