I wouldn’t get hung up on if a table is sprung or not. It boils down to the sound you prefer between the options. They have distinct differences and NO ONE can tell you what you like. That’s a recipe for someone else’s cake , that you put up the cake to buy . Listen to the difference yourself and now that you have heard a couple decent sprung tables , see if you can hear a non suspended belt and a non suspended direct drive. Your post though, in your 6 thousand quid budget lacks a crucial part as often these posts do. The Phono pre . If it isn’t up to task , you won’t really know how good/bad for your wants that table/arm/cart will/could be.
I have a suspended / belt drive (Orbe SE) and a non suspended belt drive (Micro 5000).
I like what both do and there differences. I don’t do direct drive anymore as I don’t
find it as natural sounding as I once thought, (IMHO, and that could be a change in my hearing) but the dynamic drive of them can sure be fun. The older Garrard tables brought up to new spec can be quite good. Try to hear one if you can. You may overcome the looks after you hear one that’s well set up.
Others will completely 180 my view and feel the direct drive is the only way to go. That’s fine, I get it , but what matters is YOUR opinion and 6000 quid will get you a long way down the road. Just make sure its the road you want to be on. They all have their pitfalls and strengths in sound and set up. And don’t make the phono pre an after thought, it needs to be able to match your cartridge choice(s) if your pre amp can’t to have success. You may want to also consider
how much cost , access and size of a record collection your first turntable will lead to. Good clean reasonable sized selection of records is the only way to enjoy a good vinyl rig, obviously. Good Luck.
