Unparalleled Turntable Performance with the Signature PolyTable

Analog Emporium, Gem Dandy is the ultimate destination for audio enthusiasts. Check out the Signature PolyTable, the epitome of exceptional sound quality and versatile performance. With its clever and straightforward design, this turntable offers everything you need and nothing you don't, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable listening experience every time.

Exceptional Resonance Control

The Signature PolyTable's primary resonance is set at 19 Hz, strategically positioned above the cartridge arm resonance and below the recorded information on your vinyl records. This ensures exceptional resonance control and optimal playback quality.

About the Signature PolyTable

The Signature PolyTable features an isolated plinth and a two-tier Energy Management Design. The platter bearing and tonearm reside on a separate plinth isolated from the base, while the Fluid Damped Motor System dampens torque impulse peaks on its isolated base. The motor's DMD system provides precise control with three parts per million accuracy.

Compatibility

It’s compatible with most tonearms up to 12.7 inches in length, and its primary resonance is 19 Hz, located above the cartridge arm resonance and below the recorded information. The Signature PolyTable uses a two-piece decoupled platter system with a bonded RCC mat, offering exceptional resonance control and optimal playback quality.

Pricing

The Signature PolyTable is available in a single arm mount for $3,295.00 without a tonearm or a duo arm mount for $3,495.00 without tonearm. The Sorane 12.7-inch tonearm is available for $1,875.00.

Proudly Made in the US

Made in the US by George Merrill, the PolyTable is a true high-performance turntable with striking looks and excellent engineering. It outperforms tables costing 10 to 20 times it's price, and operates at 33.3 - 45 RPM useing 120/240/VAC 50HZ/60HZ . The PolyTable Super with DMD/Fluid Damped Motor and blank tonearm mounting platform is also available in a single-tier design for $2,695.00. The plinth is designed to minimize energy flow and uses no metal or glass in the critical energy path.

Customization

The Signature PolyTable also features a damping drive platter, precision custom-manufactured motor, oil well bearing, and adjustable leveling feet with a built-in bubble level. Optional cartridges and tonearms allow you to customize your turntable to fit your needs.
PolyTable Signature Duo upgrade A new blank Duo plinth with bearing to replace the single arm plinth $359.00

At a Glance

  • All new PolyTables will accommodate a 12-inch tonearm.
  • The PolyTable was designed and manufactured by George Merrill in the US.
  • The PolyTable is a TRUE high-performance turntable.
  • The looks are striking.
  • The PolyTable will outperform tables costing many thousands of dollars.
  • 19 HZ resonance, away from cart/arm resonance-below recorded information.
  • NO fancy gimmicks, just excellent engineering.
PolyTable Super with DMD/Fluid Damped Motor and blank tonearm mouunting platform $2695.00 Single-tier design.

Features and Specifications of the Signature PolyTable

  • Designed with Energy Management Technology.
  • Plinth is designed to minimize energy flow.
  • No metal or glass is used in the critical energy path.
  • Features a two-piece platter system with a Damped Drive Platter.
  • Precision custom manufactured motor.
  • RCC Mat bonded to the record support platter.
  • Oil Well Bearing.
  • Adjustable leveling feet with built-in bubble level.
  • Optional cartridges and tonearms available.
  • 33.3 - 45 RPM -120/240VAC 50HZ/60HZ operation with DMD.
  • Made in the US with craftsmanship and pride.
  • Specifications Wow .04% Flutter .04% The top of the arm mounting platform to the top of the platter is 2 inches. The distance from the spindle center to the end of the arm platform is 13 3/4 inches. Weight 18 lbs.

Signature PolyTable Reviews

  • Stereophile Michael Fremer super review August 2016
  • Stereophile Class B in the recommended components.
  • Fantastic review in Home Theater and High Fidelity
H-P Spectrum analyzer. This instrument determines resonance peaks and side bands from .1Hz to 100 KHz.

Signature PolyTable Set-Up Video:

PolyTable Tonearm Setup

Tonearm Mounting Platform Laminate

This will allow a different arm to be mounted. It will also enable a 12-inch arm to be mounted on a PolyTable with a 9-inch mounting platform. The laminate is placed on top of the PolyTable tonearm mounting platform. This will cover the existing holes and allow drilling for a different arm. It adds 1/2 inch thickness to the mounting platform.
Simple to install and supplied with mounting screws. The drill for tonearm is $78.00. Order now!

Digital Motor Drive (DMD)

Any turntable with fixed speed (no manual variation) cannot retain speed accurately under all temperature and humidity conditions. The expansion/contraction coefficients of the drive materials will vary depending on the environment.
A variable speed control solves this problem. The result is the retention of accurate pitch.
The AC line power is contaminated with multi-frequency trash. Direct-line coupled motors will suffer noise problems and can have speed-accuracy issues. Without a buffer, this trash is fed directly into the motor and is connected to the drive system and record support platter.

Proper Motor Drive Design

A properly designed motor drive will totally isolate the turntable drive system from AC line trash and allow the motor to run smoothly. This will help eliminate the clouding of micro-level information and improve resolution, culminating in better imaging, detail, and musical realism. Unlike a DC motor, where speed is feedback-controlled and susceptible to servo hunting, a synchronous motor, like the Signature PolyTable, is frequency-controlled and is more desirable for turntable drive. An aftermarket add-on motor drive system that produces powerline voltage and utilizes a receptacle that the table plugs into are not as effective because the synchronous motor phase shift capacitor is still in use. This capacitor does not render a true 90-degree phase shift, adding impulse noise (the motor does not run as smoothly).

Digital Motor Drive Features of the Signature PolyTable

The Digital Motor Drive uses a regulated DC power supply to power a microprocessor. It employs crystal-controlled adjustable dual oscillators for sine and cosine drive (true 90-degree phase shift). The low-distortion precision sine wave dual oscillators drive two high-power low-distortion amplifiers that power the motor windings.
This allows absolute total isolation from the power line. Speed sweep is plus or minus 2 percent. The turntable speed is checked with an onboard strobe light driven by a short pulse, crystal-controlled square wave oscillator. Speed accuracy is three parts per million. Touch-button logic control is employed (On-Off and Speed Select). The Digital Motor Drive System is the most advanced drive system available.
Pete Riggle was kind enough to offer a review of the PolyTable. He is the manufacturer of the Woody Tonearm. You can purchase it directly from Pete at http://vtaf.com/index.html#/. I can drill the tonearm platform to accept the arm.

A Tribute to George Merrill and his Signature Polytable

This page is a tribute to audio legend George Merrill and a testimonial to his current top-of-the-line turntable, the Signature PolyTable, one of several remarkable, practical, and creative products George has brought to market over the years. The GEM in GEM Dandy is for George E. Merrill.
George, with associates, has developed, manufactured, and sold remarkable turntables and other products at remarkable prices for years. When you buy a George Merrill product, you are paying for solid quality, not advertising hyperbole. Like myself, George sells directly to the public, eliminating the middle layer of marketing and advertising.

George Merrill's Products

Many reviews are available online if you want to know more about George's products. You can also visit George's website: http://www.hifigem.com.
Do not forget to read the testimonials for George's products. George Merrill is the real deal.

The GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable​

First Impressions
I had been only somewhat aware of George's contributions to the audio world. I was jolted into full awareness when a customer had George send one of his Gem Dandy Signature PolyTables for installation of my customer's 12.2" Woody Universal Tonearm and his Ortofon Black LBV 150 edition cartridge—LBV for Ludwig Van Beethoven's 150th birthday. I installed and set up the arm and cartridge with great care.
Immersive Musical Experience
I dropped the stylus into the groove, assumed my listening position, and immersed myself in musical magic. This turntable was making more magic than I had heard in my listening room.
The turntables I had in service at the time were a Thorens TD124 and a Garrard 301. Both were good-sounding tables, but neither was as magical as the Signature PolyTable.
Turntable and Cartridge Evaluation
I wondered whether the magic was primarily from the turntable or from the cartridge, which I had not previously auditioned. I changed cartridges to my longtime favorite, the Dynavector XX2 Mk. II, and listened further.
Yes, it was the turntable, not just the cartridge. Both cartridges were making magic with the Woody Universal Tonearm and the Signature PolyTable. The Ortofon was a bit brighter and more vivacious, while the Dyanavector was a bit warmer and more seductive.
Unparalleled Sound and Magic
We can discuss all the various attributes of good sound—bass, midrange, treble, soundstage, imaging, pace, rhythm, and timing—but what we hear with the GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable is a holistic synthesis of all these things and something even better—magic!
It is clear to me that there will be a George Merrill GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable in my listening room in the future. Here is a photo of my customer's GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable with his 12.2-inch effective length Woody Universal Tonearm. This is the setup that I listened to, leading me to desire this turntable:

​About the GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable

George's turntable designs are focused on practicality, speed constancy, and reducing vibration and its transfer. Here are some photos of the GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable. Check out George's website photo. In this photo, you see the Signature PolyTable table with the Sorane TA-1L arm that George can provide with the table. Three legs support the lower platform. The foot of each leg is a Sorbothane puck over an aluminum disk.
The fluid-damped low-vibration synchronous motor supported by the lower platform is fed electrically by a super precise and steady digital motor drive, which operates at 33 and 45 RPM, each speed with its adjustment. A strobe light conducted through a fiber optic tube emanating from the motor controller allows the user to set the speed simply, precisely, and quickly using a separate strobe disk, which can be placed atop the platter.
The motor of the Signature PolyTable has a crowned pulley. The belt drives a subplatter supported by the upper platform. It is carefully designed to minimize the creation of vibration and vibration transfer from the motor to the subplatter.
Three Sorbothane pucks support the upper platform and isolate vibration from the lower platform. A layer of cork and rubber material separates the upper platter from the subplatter. I found the table quiet, simple to operate, trouble-free, and a pleasure to use.

How George Merrill Sleuthsibration

I talked with George about how he tracks down vibration and vibration transfer so that he can reduce them. He told me he designed and constructed a device he called the Vibration Intrusion Table (VIT) years ago. I picture a variation of a shake table.
The operating frequency range of the VIT is .1 Hz to 100 kHz. He also designed and constructed a vibration pickup transducer that he can apply to various parts of the turntable to determine the level and frequency of vibration. He feeds these vibration signals to the Hewlett-Packard signal analyzer pictured below. He says that tuning forks is a useful signal when sleuthing out vibration.

Conclusion

Listening to music with the GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable, I have to conclude that while George thinks his way through a design and measures his way through the design, he also listens to his way through the design. George Merrill is the real deal . . . an American original. I hope you become more familiar with his products, particularly the GEM Dandy Signature PolyTable. Pete Riggle Audio2112 S. Olympia Street, Kennewick WA 99337, USAshop phone: 509 582 4548 email: peteriggle@msn.comVTAF™ Trademarked. U.S.Patent No. 7630288.

Owners review of the PolyTable

“I have owned a PolyTable SUPER12 for several months and thought I'd set down a few of my experiences with it.
The PolyTable SUPER12 arrives well-packaged in one big box. Upon removing the turntable's parts from the box I was impressed by their high quality and superior fit and finish. It was easy and quick to set up due to the excellent instructions.
The Jelco 12-inch tonearm is easy to set up, with adjustments for everything. George Merrill's YouTube setup video was very helpful since the 'arm comes with no setup instructions or templates - I had to get an alignment template online. I'm using Hana SL and Dynavector 10X5 cartridges. The tonearm is an excellent match for these cartridges and seems to be non-fussy about cartridges appropriate to its mass.
The turntable is absolutely silent with no vibrations, both when idling and in operation, a product of the Fluid Damped Drive Motor System. The speed is very stable and on-pitch due to the Digital Motor Drive.
The best description of the turntable's sound is that it has none: It is completely neutral. There are no colorations introduced by the 'table. The bass is strong and well-controlled, without the muddy, indistinct sound of some turntables. The midrange is very satisfying, with voices and instruments surprisingly clear and natural-sounding. And the highs are pure: not beaming, or glaring or grainy.
The turntable has a wide, deep, and high soundstage. And its pace and dynamics are as good as I've ever heard from any turntable, no matter the price.
The PolyTable SUPER12 is individually crafted for the buyer and is signed by its designer and builder, George Merrill.
My experience with this turntable has been extremely positive. It has been a joy playing through my record collection, appreciating all the more my favorites, and finding new favorites among those I thought were not so great.
If you are looking for a turntable that is several steps up from a basic model, do yourself a favor and take a look at the PolyTable SUPER12. At $2,995, it's a steal and equal to turntables costing thousands more.” — Mike Nichol
“Hi George,
Received the Gem Dandy Polytable Super12 Turntable in great shape, wonderfully packed. Instructions and Setup were a breeze. I'm 62 yo and have had my share of Turntable setups/installations like over 12. None over $1500. I must say initially that the sound I'm hearing is incredible for this price point.
I have auditioned many analog rigs twice if not four times/10 the price of this rig. Glad I picked your creation/design. A big smile is on my face. I'm hearing things on my system that I never imagined would be possible.
Just a few random thoughts and observations.”
— Analog Emporium, GEM Dandy Customer