There are only two platforms that will work reliably, the MinusK and the Vibraplane. This assumes that your equipment rack or cabinet is laterally stable. Movement straight up and down is easy for the tonearm to handle. Lateral or sideways deflections are always a serious problem. When you walk on your floor it does not deflect straight up and down. It forms an arc which causes the rack or cabinet to sway. No turntable, not even a good suspended one can handle that. With a bad floor the first thing you do is keep the rack as short as possible like coffee table height. This decreases the distance the top of the rack will sway. Wall racks usually help but you say that is out of the question. Your budget puts the MinusK and Vibraplane out of the running. The turntables best able to handle a bad floor will be the Basis Inspiration, the SMEs and the suspended Sotas. You are more than likely wasting your money with the Townsend. I think you should probably get the turntable closer to the floor and make sure the rack is very sturdy without any tendency to rack. After that start saving for a good suspended turntable, The Sota Sapphire comes to mind. The reason the above turntables are best is because the chassis is suspended by the springs. This is a way more stable situation than the chassis sitting on the springs which can actually make the problem worse. I have seen the Sapphire successfully quell some pretty severe footfall problems. This is also another good reason to avoid longer tonearms. In the meanwhile I would practice your tip toeing. I forgot about one solution, suspending the turntable from the ceiling. You hang a shelf from the ceiling via 4 chains, 3 with turnbuckles for level adjustment. The holes for hooks in the ceiling can be easily patched. This is also an extremely cost effective solution. Chains, hooks, shelves and elbow grease might cost you a whopping $50.00. This also assumes there is nobody walking around upstairs.
