Merrill tables

The home he bought is probably valued at $15,000.00

Rlxl:
Yes the springs are definitely a worthwhile upgrade. They are machined out of a single metal stock, with double helix counter-wound geometry to prevent binding and swaying. With the flat top and bottom, they are really easy to install too, no more turning to dial in the sweet spot.
For all of you lucky enough to own an old Merrill Heirloom out there, rescue them out of the attic and contact Anthony at MSR LLC (www.merrillaudio.com) for many worthwhile upgrades.
See this page for pricing of upgrade options:
http://www.merrillaudio.com/pricing.html

You will end up with a table sounding much better than contemporary TTs in the same price range.
Enjoy.
Vinh Vu

By the way, here is a page out of a Jeff Day review on 6moons talking about the Heirloom restored TT:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/leben5/preamp_4.html
Vinh Vu

$900 in 1984 = $1895.14 in 2008 dollars.

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl

The government calculation is based on inflation rate of less than 3% a year. I wish that is the case every time I fill up my car. I suspect audio inflation rate would be more because of the small market demand on which high fixed costs have to be amortized.
One would think that audio manufacturers must be making a killing with all these exorbitant prices. Remind me of a joke I heard in the elevator at a recent audio show: "Do you know how to make a million in high-end audio? Start out with 2" :-)
Vinh