New TT for ~$1500

Any closer to a decision?

Two directions here. Get an old Denon DD table. Spend ~$400. This will give you a taste of DD. And if you sell it later you won't lose hardly a dime. I recommend spending a bit more on the cartridge.  The Soundsmith Otello is a steal at $399. Some of the new ATs are very fine cartridges. 
The second path is the new Schiit Sol. It comes with a cartridge installed. I believe one choice is the ATVM95E. The first upgrade I would make would be to pop on a new Shibata or Microline stylus. Take like 30 seconds. This will let you compare them easily. You also have 15 days to try the Schiit with a small restocking fee if a no go. 
Let us know what route you take, and your thoughts.

Chakster, I noticed you never recommend "Grado";  that's my favorite cartridge, and I've tried many.

I believe a cartridge is like choosing a girl friend; this is the one for me, but not for everybody else.

As an owner of the recommended Marantz TT15, I would like to chime in.  It is a beautiful table and it does sound good.  I got it new a couple of years ago for $1000, which was a steal at the time.  That said, I am going to be replacing it with a direct drive.  Reasons:

- The belt drive. I hate changing the belt for speeds.  Especially on this table.  The belt is located near the bottom and can come off.
- The motor. It just sits in a hole in the plinth.  I get it, isolation.  However, when you turn it on, the motor moves.  It is just a poor design, IMHO.
- The cartridge.  As mentioned above, the overhang is significant and I know people with this table that have broken it off more than once.  I am SUPER careful and have not had any issues, fortunately.
- Also as mentioned above, it does have an additional ground wire and no dustcover.  I am not a fan of a giant acrylic box sitting over my tt(for another $200.)

I have a vintage Kenwood KD-500 that I am servicing.  It is a great looking table with a nice tonearm,  a dustcover and has a Grado gold on it. It is made of a composite that Kenwood designed that looks like marble and is quite heavy.  I am going to shoot it out with the Marantz when I am done and if I find it close, the Marantz will be sold.

Chakster, I noticed you never recommend "Grado"; that’s my favorite cartridge, and I’ve tried many.

@orpheus10
That’s not true, maybe you missed my recommendations for Grado, find my grado between Pioneer PC-1000 mkII and Grace LEVEL II BR/MR. This is Joseph Grado Signature XTZ and this is what i have right now on my Denon DA-401 tonearm. This is the best Grado cartridge i ever tried, but i must say i did not try all Grados. Prior to this i’ve been using a lot (and still have them) a $150 Grado DJ200 which is based on cheap Grado Black, those are not for the main system.

Grado Signature XTZ is high-end MI cartridge from the 80’s, i love it!
XTZ styli are available from Grado