Turntables currently considered top of the range. Do you know what they are ?

Yeah, that's interesting what tube power supply did there. I have a hypothesis - tubes are just superior devices, whatever you do with them, if you know what you do.

@inna knowing what to do with the devices is far more important than what devices they are!

If you really want to figure out what turntable has it right, the best way is to compare it against master tapes using an LP made from the master tapes.

But to do that the platter pad and tonearm are variables, as is the cartridge and the phono section's ability to get it right.

Again, master tapes are really helpful :)

Decent recording equipment is not that expensive WRT some of the prices I've seen on this thread already, so going thru the effort to make a good quality recording and putting it on LP does not seem that crazy in such light.

FWIW, that is why I use a Technics SL1200G. I use a different platter pad since the original does not do its job properly. I also have it perched on a very nice anti-vibration platform and equipment stand designed for it. You need to control variables like this if you really want to get down to the nub of it.

The Technics arm on the 1200G gives a lot of 'high end audio' tonearms a run for the money, but I prefer the Triplanar which can be mounted on the Technics with a proper arm board.

Ralph, of course, master tapes. The flow and drive of the tape..

Recently saw some vintage tube Studer on ebay for, I think, $35k or so. Now that was a thing of beauty.

Any thoughts on the Holbo deck from Slovenia? It combines an air bearing turntable with a linear tracking tonearm, which also runs on air.  Driven by rubber bands, though!

Got an excellent review: Holbo Mk II Airbearing Turntable Review | StereoNET International

This is just about $50K. I put this here, because I have this, except mine is the regular Innovation turntable and I have the Statement record weight, at $30K for everything, but I am thinking about adding the field upgrade kit to the Master Innovation for another ~$20K

Yeah the field-upgrade was a selling point when I bought a brand new Innovation Wood, exactly 12 years ago. In the end, I "upgraded" by buying a minty used Master Innovation (dealer floor model) for less than the upgrade price alone, and then sold my Innovation Wood on top of that.

One thing I’ve noticed, that’s seemingly not published nor explained by Clearaudio - my Master is a VERY early unit circa 2013, in fact its serial # is either # 2 or 3 (I forget which). More recent Master Innovations show a very beefed-up center column (holding the long bearing shaft), which should increase the table’s mass and rigidity. How is that reconciled with the field upgrade - or do all field upgrades assume the smaller-sized center column, since that’s what (I think) all Innovation Woods have?

In general - upgrade paths from high-end turntables companies - oof, very expensive.