Is the Townshend Rock 7 "the" giant killer?

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!

Bpd24- Thank you, I appreciate that. Perhaps some of the issue he had was with the Helius arm. I'm sure it's a wonderful table. Someone described the sound as Master Tape like.

The whole LP/cartridge/arm/platter/table/phono-amp system is very resonant and microphonic. The Rock turntable is one approach to making it less so. Damping is and has been used in lots of LP playing products, usually tonearms, including SME, Well Tempered, and many uni-pivots. Damping incorporated into a table is far less common, and as far as headshell-located damping, the Rock is the only one I'm aware of. The Decca/London cartridge is probably the biggest challenge any tonearm can face, and the Rock a really effective partner to any arm with a Decca/London mounted on it.

I was the importer for the original Rock turntable. When I visited Absolute Sound I met with an engineer who did transcription of vinyl for the movie industry. He would transfer the record to tape via a Rock turntable. I asked him why he was using the Rock and not some other fantastically expensive turntable, since he had no budget restrictions. His answer was," No table can recreate accurate bass like the Rock"

I not only had to agree with him but added that the background noise level drops to nothing when using the damping trough. I recognized this immediately when I first heard the table at the CES show in Chicago. 

For anyone requiring help with a Rock, contact me or the Rock Doc in Britain for help.