How would you prepare a turntable for moving across the country?
 

How would you prepare a turntable for moving across the country?
Are you supposed to remove the tonearm or anything similar?
I move a lot, maybe twice a year. This is the reason I haven't gotten my first turntable yet. I don't know how to set one up (but I'll be too far for the guy who sold it to me to service), and I'm afraid of destroying it in a move.

How would you prepare a turntable for moving across the country?
 

You follow the installation manual in reverse and put it back in its original box. Typically, the platter, the tone arm, the cartridge it all has to come off. Also depending on the design, the suspension has to be locked. It may sound complicated but it is not. And if you move a lot, you will become an expert at it.

If moving that often I would definitely opt for something like the Technics SL-1200 direct-drive TT/TA combination. Excellent performance & quality with ease of set-up for your moves. Also has a 'universal' headshell, so easy to mount & align the cartridge and then remove and pack for safe shipment. Once you have the cartridge aligned it will be about as 'plug & play' as any TT/TA combo one could imagine. Just write down any settings and dial them in after unpacking each time and you should be ready to "rock & roll". There are many excellent MM & HOMC cartridges on the market that will work well with your MX122's phono input should you not wish to add a phono-preamp.

Here's my considered recommendation:

Get a Rega with a factory-installed Rega cartridge, e.g. Planar 3 or Planar 6, etc. It will come packed with the appropriate packing materials so that you don't have to remove anything from the turntable to ship it. Just save the factory packing materials. This way you don't have to remove the arm and catrridge or any of that nonsense. All you have to do is protect the bearing (see below).

Also, if by chance you choose to remove the cartridge, the Rega cartridges use a 3-bolt mounting system so you don't have to futz with alignment protractors and all that hoo-ha. All you do is just bolt it into the tonearm at your new home.

Here's the most important point by far: when re-packing your turntable, you need to raise and support the sub-platter bearing spindle so that it does not contact the bearing during shipment. This is critical. Rega supplies a small cut-out peice of cardboard to do this. Don't lose it as you'll need to safely pack and ship your TT.

And that is that...easy.

It really depends on the turntable.

With Linn it is virtually impossible. Everything is sold disassembled so you pretty much have to disassemble it or maybe cut out the foam to fit the tonearm

For others, just reversing the assembly process should work.

I remember getting a VPI HW40 damaged even in transit with the gimbal arm fitted in factory. VPIs are usually shipped with the unipivot tonearm uninstalled but the new gimbal made it difficult to ship this way.

There’s nothing like a Rega with a Rega cartridge for setup simplicity. If you’re going to be moving it that often, it’s absolutely the most practical solution - and they sound great too.

I agree. Very different requirements. :

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The AVID Ingenium ships with Tonearm and cartridge in place so you can just pack it up without taking anything apart.

+1 on the Rega with pre-installed cartridge. I would imagine their dealer network is as extensive as any brand, so you can get support wherever you go.

I always remove the platter and wrap the tonearm so it is immobilized.