Like you I listen mostly to classical music and my arm is an SME V. Its easy for me to recommend a Teres 255: lead damped armboard and acrylic platter, beautiful cocobolo plinth, excellent Maxon motor. Simple to setup and easy to maintain. Chris Brady will custom cut the armboard for you. Frankly I was stunned and delighted (shock and awe!) at the improvements the Teres + SME made over my SOTA Sapphire. I'll say it matches your criteria very well.
I used the 255 with the V for several years before upgrading to a Teres 320. And there is another plus, Teres has a great policy that makes it really affordable to move up. But the 255 could easily be a lifetime table.
There are quite a few Teres users on the forums so you can get more opinions than mine. And there are lots of excellent tables in your price range and I hope folks offer further suggestions. You might tell us your cartridge and phono preamp as all the bits fit together in the analog front-end. Best of luck with your search!
Rgds,
Tim
I used the 255 with the V for several years before upgrading to a Teres 320. And there is another plus, Teres has a great policy that makes it really affordable to move up. But the 255 could easily be a lifetime table.
There are quite a few Teres users on the forums so you can get more opinions than mine. And there are lots of excellent tables in your price range and I hope folks offer further suggestions. You might tell us your cartridge and phono preamp as all the bits fit together in the analog front-end. Best of luck with your search!
Rgds,
Tim