Is a GREAT turntable under $2000 possible???

Clearaudio Concept

I just upgraded my table to an RPM 9.2 with a Sumico Blue point special EVO III for just over $1800 on sale from Audio Advisor.  That unit retails for close to $4K so its a great deal.  Very heavy acrylic platter, carbon fiber arm, and what I like best is it is filled with metal shot for dampening and uses opposing magnets on the feet so it is, literally, floating on air.  I can pound on the table top where it sits and it doesn’t resonate through.  I’ve very impressed with the soundstage of this set-up through my Martin Logan SL3 electrostats run through a Creek class a amp with a phono section.  Tight, accurate, tremendous separation.

Question is what is good enough to serve your purpose? I bought a Pro-Ject  Debut Carbon Esprit SB (DC) that cost ~$500 US about three years ago. I have a tin ear and listen almost exclusively to hard rock, so opinion is not well qualified and I can't tell enough difference between the good stuff and the great stuff to justify the large price differential. But I really liked the turntable. Big, thick acrylic platter and Ortofon cartridge that killed anything I could afford as a college kid several decades ago...  Back to qualified opinions. 

Don't know @rjsmith1 as this is my first go at vinyl. I think it's a good place to start!

I recently got my hands on a Scheu demo with an Ortofon Super MM 40 and Rega arm for well under your $2000 price...truly a work of art!

I had never used a Scheu table before, but the performance seems to be that of tables costing quite a bit more....especially with the separate motor unit.

I think I could take this table through an upgrade path (new cartridge, new arm, ect) and not max out the capability of the actual plinth, plater and motor until I got well into the $$$$s of dollars in upgrades on other parts of the system. Which at this point is my plan!