Should I keep the Turntable or sell it?

@flynnrd You clearly have not read thru this thread, or you would know I am certainly not a "shill" for Cambridge Audio or the dealer. Maybe a shill for Rega or Marantz, but certainly not the product for which I won in the contest. I have also stated in this thread that I have the Alva listed to sell on the Audiogon marketplace, and on reverb, which seems to do the opposite of promoting a positive image about a product. It is a great turntable, but just not what I am looking for with my current setup. Also, think about the people on this forum... do you really believe they would be swayed to gain interest and purchase a product from simply reading a forum post about selling the dang product?? SMH.

@stevencason I am not trying to do a comparison of tables, because I don’t plan on using a specific cart. Because these mid-level tables generally are sold as a specific "package", that is what I am inquiring about, the entire package. Some people here and on other forums have owned or at least listened to both the Rega P3 with Exact and the Marantz TT-15S1 and can provide helpful details about their listening experience. Waiting and listening is an option that I have explored, but in the end, I know I want a different listening experience that doesn’t require component workarounds. Tubes are a different story though. Also, the point of selling or trading the two tables is so that I am NOT shelling out a ton of cash.

@davidclarke I will take a look on ebay.

@robert53 I don’t mind the expense of buying tubes over time, because that is like buying and collecting nice bottles of wine. You can experiment and play with tube rolling, so I have learned. And the price of tubes seems to be much cheaper than swapping/upgrading carts, from what I can tell. And yeah, when I feel like splurging, I might look into the tubes from the 50’s and 60’s. Gotta roll these tables first. :)

+1200 For the Technics GR suggestions.

@robelvick direct drive is an inferior technology. 

Wait for it..... 

+1200 For the Technics GR suggestions.

I'm not on the Audiogon Forum much.  I get a weekly email titled Weekly Recap which has some of the top discussions of the past week, I guess.

I was very intrigued by this thread because I've had a Bluenote Bellavista Signature turntable for about ten years now.  

I've replaced the U3 tonearm with a suped-up Rega RB300.  Incognito wiring, Pete Riggle VTA on-the-fly adjustment and Michell counter weight.
Don't think I can live without the on-the-fly Vta anymore.  I found the unipivot a little to squirrely for me.

  I recently had to replace the motor because the original crapped out.  Luckily Goldnote (which Bluenote is now) had one left in their old inventory. I also got an original belt which is essentially a giant O-ring.

Anyhow, I noticed that it runs pretty much right on at 331/3 rpm but when I go to 45 rpm it runs fast.  I've tried everything to get it to run correct at both speeds. The Bluenote uses a hollow belt spindle with a threaded insert that can be screwed in or out for minor adjustments of speed (it makes the belt spindle bigger or smaller).  My thought  was that if it's right on at 331/3 rpm then when I move the belt to the 45 rpm spindle groove it should be right on or close without having to make a speed adjustment to the spindle insert.  It doesn't and won't, even if I try to adjust the speed  using the spindle insert. 

I hope I explained that well enough to understand because a lot of folks are not familiar with this turntable.

Because of this problem and not being able to rectify it I've been thinking about a new turntable and I've been a little drawn to the Technics because at this point I just want something that RUNS AT THE CORRECT SPEED.

It bothers me to no end that I know the speed is off.  Even at 33 1/3 sustained piano notes sound like they're slightly out of tune (maybe that's just my imagination?).  45 rpm just doesn't sound right at all (definitely not my imagination). 
 
I've been wavering back and forth on which way to go.  

A belt drive with speed controller or just an all-in-one DD such as the Technics. 

Remember, it has to have on-the-fly/easy VTA adjustment.  

Thanks in advance,  Nick.

P.s.  I won't jump on anyone for their suggestions even if they're a so-called "fan-boy".   Not that there's anything wrong with that.  :-)