Not everyone is a Technics fan. Myself included for my own reasons. Read the OP's thread. He didn't mention Technics, you guys did....
Some people don't even know a better turntables exist at the same price with different type of drive, plinth, tonearm ... Brainwashed by dealers at their shops, or there is another reason - it's really hard to understand sometimes. But any entry level belt drive turntables are very bad and the tonearms on those turntables are very bad too. Why not to mention an alternative before someone will make a costly mistake?
Or it will be exactly like you said below:
Do you really want a good turntable, or do you have too much time on your hands for doing something constructive.
Search audiogon on Rega and Pro-Ject and you will see how many problems with those turntables mentioned by their owners. Others trying to invest more in the same turntable to make it better instead of just buying a proper turntable from the start and forget about everything except for the cartridge.