Best turntable under $4000

I could never afford Dr. Feikert's turntable, but I admire it for two reasons. First, I know what it takes to earn a PhD and it is very probable Dr. Feikert applied the same conscientious attention to detail in designing and perfecting his turntable he had to learn through the hard years of graduate school. Second, in naming it after Voltaire, he has named it after a man who is my hero. There is a story about Voltaire having published Candide, which had the police on the way to his house to arrest him, eating his lunch. His servant was near panic over his not hurrying to board a carriage to cross the Swiss border before the police could catch up with him. He assured the servant there would be time for dessert. The police barely missed him when he departed to cross the border. To make a quote I heard of but cannot find from another literary hero of mine, Dante Alighieri, Voltaire had learned to ". . . sail through life in a greasy ship and slip the grips of his enemies."

Have fun with your new turntable!  I’ve had a long journey to get to what works for me. My goal is both great sound and ease of setup and use. I just want to put records on and listen. I’ve owned and used the Linn LP12, Clearaudio Performance, Townshend Rock 7, SOTA Sapphire, Bryston 1.0—all with top-notch arms and various cartridges up to $3500. And phono preamps ranging from $1000 to $7000. After all this, I’ve settled on my favorite, the Technics 1200G. It sounds great, is easy to set up, and allows easy cartridge switching, and can support excellent MC cartridges. Most important, it makes it very easy to just put a record on, which then sounds better than it ever has. 
 

This is just me and my experience. Your needs or wants may be different. 

You can get a really good condition Garrard 401 with an SME arm for that. It will sound better than anything else at twice that price. That said, most $4000 turntables are really good. I think a used Rega P8 with an Alpheta cartridge would be a good choice if you don't want to get into vintage. Plug and play and sounds great.

The vintage and used stuff is great for the dedicated hobbyist, but can be problematic for someone who would prefer to have a trouble-free modern table and use readily available carts. In the under 4k price range I would seriously consider the Technics SL1200GR (which sounds almost identical to the G) with a Hana SL or a Rega P6 with the Ania (both around $2.5k with great entry level MC carts that will pair well with your Cronos Magnum phono section). Spend the money you save on records!

If you want to spend more, the Technics SL1200G or the Rega P8 would be good choices, but both would take you over your budget when you add decent carts.

If you end up going belt drive, here’s an option, new, semi-auto.

available black, same seller