So many great golden era DD tables out there, what do you recommend for $1000?

You're right Lewm in your recollection of JP Jones' skepticism about Victor's Patented Bi-Directional Servo......
And then Hiho (I think) produced all the World Patent Documents for it which floored JP who said he needed to read all the documents to try and understand the principles.
He never reported back...🤔
I don't think enough documentation exists for the significance of Victor's Bi-Directional Servo Control to be appreciated.
It is the exact opposite of Technic's design which utilises a powerful motor with huge torque to control a massive platter.
With the Victors......a lightweight aluminium platter is controlled by a medium-powered motor (sometimes coreless) combined with their various servo-controllers....with the Bi-Directional Controller utilised in their higher models.

So radical was this approach, that Yamaha 'borrowed' the designer of the TT-81 from Victor, to modify it with a coreless motor to use in their acclaimed GT-2000 and the Goldmund Studietto used the motor from the TT-81 with Micro-Seiki putting it all together.

That innovation in analogue engineering runs throughout the entire Victor repertoire during the Golden Age of Analogue.
From cartridges to platter mats to tonearms to turntables...the Japanese Victor Company turned out some of the real jewels which still today...can hold their own.
That's why the QL-A7 is so ridiculously undervalued at its performance levels.
Shhh....don't let the secret out.
ALL of the Victors are undervalued and under-appreciated IMHO...🤗

Uber,
No magnetic strips at all....🤪
The Patent Documents would explain how they do it but they're way too complex for my tiny brain 🤯 

If the bi-directional servo patents momentarily stumped JP, don't feel bad.
Best-groove, I know the DA307 has its defenders, and I can tell you that the rubber gasket separating the front end of the arm wand from the pivot point is still intact on mine, as you predicted, but my question is why have a point of discontinuity and potential flexibility between the headshell and the pivot point? Seems to me you don't want flexibility there, and 99% of tonearm designs are aimed at rigidity above all else.  But I don't think the DA307 is junk; I just don't have a use for it at the moment so I store it in a shoebox.  I also store my Technics EPA250, Dynavector DV501 and an extra DV505, Grace woodie, and Victor 7045 tonearms in other shoeboxes or in their factory containers.

So far thanks to the many great contributions here I have a fairly short, short list of possible tables.
Kenwood KD500/550/600.
JVC, QL-7/A7
Victor tt71/81
Micro Seiki DD7/8
Denon DP-60/62/80

Now I am sure that some of those are out of my self imposed price bracket like the dp-80 although that also seems to have the most universal thumbs up so it might be time to make the hard call and dig deeper into the pockets!

Also recommending the TT-101.   Hard to beat and inexpensive relative to many  other vintage TT's in this class.   I have the QL-10 and added a Tenuto mat and some Gaia III's for feet and away I went.   ~$1100.00 in it, and I bought it recapped.   She's a keeper.