@saulh You have been demonstrated a selection of TT's of which one has stood out with the impression made.
Question are all demonstrations undertaken as per the following:
1, In the same Listening Environment
2, Is each TT set up on the same mounting method.
3, Is the TT's using the same Tonearm and Cartridge.
4, Is the downstream devices beyond your Phonostage the same.
If the answer is no, then there is the possibility that the set up for the TT and the entirety of the system is to be included in the assessment, that has made one demonstration be perceived as more attractive.
This week end as an aside demonstration at a HiFi Club meet, two Ortofon Kontrapunk B's were presented, One said to be NOS with only a few hours of usage ( A Cupboard Find from a Dealership ), the other a Retipped Model with a Paratrace Styli.
These were mounted in Two Different Headshells, one being a Oyaide Carbon Fibre and the other a more commonly found Aluminium design.
Both were replayed in the same system using the same Tracks.
The Cart's were recognisable as being from the same family, they were quite Ortofon in their delivery.
What stood out was how the Two Cart's demonstrated as more like Cousins than Twin Siblings. They were quite different and distinguishable for the differences.
I have suggested this is carried out once more, and I will supply Two Identical Magnesium Headshells, as I know this Cart' Model very well and can only suggest at present the Headshell Materials and how the energies were managed by these materials, were a substantial contribution to the SQ being perceived.
It seems from this that a small change such as a Headshell can be quite influential in how a presentation from a system is being assessed, transfer that to change of TT mounting, change of Tonearm and Cartridge.
A home demonstration will help with your decision, and might prove so valuable to you, the monies that could be saved through a selection and then directed toward a streamer, might just materialise as the result.