Naim introduce a turntable - the Solstice Special Edition

There has always been a "simple elegance" in the design of NAIM components of the past

But I do not see anything "elegant" about this TT - simple yes - it is simply a big round lump on top of a rectangular lump - with an arm stuck on the side

And it's a "Limited Edition" - thank goodness

aesthetically -  I find it very disappointing, even boring, especially for such an expensive TT.

Just wondering if it performs better than it looks?

Still - beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Just another opinion :-)

Look at the bright side. It seems that every major name in audio wants to have a turntable in their line-up. This is a very good thing as it demonstrates how strong vinyl is. And this despite the loss of the World's only full-scale master-plate plant. The industry is finding ways to meet consumer demand for vinyl and the miniscule companies that cater to us 2% of the consumer world who obsess over quality are finding opportunities to sell expensive turntables. 
We 'mercans have very short memories (other than mijostyn evidently). Just 20 years ago Japan was almost single-handedly keeping the faith on vinyl. They were the ones continuing to manufacture cartridges, tonearms, SUT;s, and tweaking vintage decks. 

@lewm  My bad Lewm, I was too busy flying rockets through the neighbors windows to worry about spelling. Actually, I am dyslexic which was blamed on a bicycle crash when I was 6 years old. My head hit a concrete curb and I was knocked unconscious. I woke up that night with my pediatrician Hyman Alford, MD banging on my knees with a reflex hammer. My mother says I was black and blue under both eyes. It is not the usual form of dyslexia. I can read, but I have a hard time remembering what I read. If I read a name I will never remember it but if someone tells me the name or I speak the name out loud then no problem.  I can enjoy reading a novel but I won't remember anything about it. I get much more out of TV documentaries or audio books. 
Without spell check I am worthless. I did fly rockets through the neighbors windows :-)

pani, define “belt drive-ish flow”.

A more continuous sound with not so sharp start-stop transients

@pani , define "not so sharp start-stop transients? Would that mean more Wow versus flutter? Or. maybe lack of same?

Audiophiles have developed some interesting way of describing what they think they hear, descriptors that have no definable parameters like pace and timing. Pace as an example is synonymous with speed which is supposed to be 33 1/3. Does this mean if a turntable has better "pace" it is running at 33 2/3? The music has timing not the turntable. There is a reason turntables sound like they do. We may not know the reason because it is hidden, more difficult to identify but it is there. The principle determinants of a turntable's sound are the cartridge and the tonearm. After them a turntable can inject noise (rumble), it can have speed fluctuations (wow + flutter) and any part can resonate or pass on environmental vibrations which will alter the system's frequency response. Theoretically all good turntables regardless of drive should sound exactly the same, like nothing, nothing at the right speed. They do not have pace and timing and they do not soften stop-start transients, whatever that means.