Certainly looks a lot cleaner, John
BTW I have done some reading on optimum placement in your room for your turntable. Basically you need to find out what the resonant frequency of your TT is and make sure it doesn't sit in a room peak of that particular frequency. Also bear in mind that the plinth, the platter, and the arm all have different resonant frequencies. I'm sure you know how to do that, but if you don't ... I can lend you my mike and sound card.