My father owned (and still has) an ERA 444. It's an interesting 'table, but far from perfect. It wasn't mine, so I can't really comment on the fine tuning and adjustability of it, but I can make a few comments about some positive and negatives, as well as its overall sonic character...
The bad:
- Unfortunately, IMHO, the suspension system for the tonearm and platter is terrible on this turntable. It bounces like crazy and causes the record to skip at the slightest footstep. You literally have to walk around like a ninja to keep it from skipping like a six year old with a skipping rope. It's ridiculous. Really, if you are considering buying one of these, consider wall mounting it for best results.
- The plinth is also a bit hollow and resonant. Unwanted vibration and noise will be transmitted into your speakers. This table needs to be decoupled from as much noise and vibration as possible for best performance.
- The motor in these have very little torque. Startup time takes quite a while to get up to speed, and you have to have a very light touch when using a record brush on it. It doesn't take much force at all to slow the platter down to a nearly dead stop when cleaning the dust off a record.
- The push/pull switch will need to be cleaned every once in a while. The contacts seem to get dirty on these.
The good:
- Due to the leaf spring system for the tonearm, it tracks VERY smoothly. About as free and smooth as you could hope for. There is no binding or hesitation whatsoever. In this regard, it just works.
- The cuing mechanism is about as smooth of a drop as you can get. Although, the one on my father's doesn't have an accurate drop. It would consistently drop the stylus about a 1/16th of an inch to the right. IDK if this was just an idiosyncrasy with my father's unit, but after getting used to it you could usually drop it accurately between tracks if need be...usually.
- IMHO, it is a nice, clean looking 'table. No bells and whistles, and I actually like the smoked plastic dust cover, as well as the fact that it is not hinged. So many hinged covers eventually crack or fail at the hinge area, but a non-hinged one will stay pristine and fully functional. It may not be as convenient as a hinged cover, but it just works. I also like the fact that the cover goes over the outer edges of the plinth which helps to keep more dust from getting in.
As for the sound, it is actually a nice sounding 'table. My father had a Rata RP 40 cartridge of unknown quality (to me) mounted on it, and he ran it through his Harman Kardon Citation 17 & 19 separates and any number of speakers. Overall though, the 'table had a warm character and an enveloping sound to it that was very organic-sounding with very good tonality. It isn't the end all be all of boldness and rhythmic drive, but one of its strong points was a very open and spacious sound with excellent soundstaging and imaging, which really leant a good sense of realism to properly recorded albums. It was very silent and made instruments stand out in stark contrast with a "deep black" background. Overall, I'd say it's a good sounding 'table. Any shortcomings it may have I think could be addressed with a better cartridge than my father had in it, and the good sounds it made were characteristic of a 'table that was well-designed enough to allow those things to happen and readily come through.
I'm not sure if I would go out of my way to get one, but overall I think the ERA 444 is a 'table worth checking out while keeping in mind its inherent negatives and idiosyncrasies. However, be that as it may, I think that if you are able to decouple it from any unwanted vibrations and noise that it is a 'table worth listening to. Just wall mount it, get some proper isolation feet for it, and enjoy.