Stiltskin, I see you've already contacted Thom to order a table so my 2 cents may just add a little reassurance.
I bought my Gavia with Gavia Platter and Stelvio armboard about a year ago. The Stelvio was somewhat tempting but I'm "married with children" and Thom's suggestions convinced me that the Gavia as I ordered it would get me most of the way there. This was to be my final turntable purchase and I can honestly say I'm done looking.
There are a few finish choices available for the base, platter and motor pod and Thom was kind enough to send me samples of what was available. I ended up going with what looks to be the same table as Dan_ed and couldn't be more pleased. My table is beautiful to behold and you don't have to look very hard to appreciate the skill and thought that went into building this audio work of art.
Even a year or so later I still hear from Thom letting me know of new ideas he's come up with to make his products better or just tweaks to get more out of my system. He's a true gentleman and very accessible even after the sale.
Like many others I too went with a Tri-Planar and was fortunate to get mine right around the time Tri had implemented the very cool VTF upgrade; great idea!
Thom provided plenty of helpful information about arms that would work well on his tables but was pretty neutral about which he preferred letting me come to my own conclusions. The top of the line Schroeder looked interesting but I had pretty much decided on the Tri-Planar long before I originally contacted Thom. He just confirmed what I already knew.
After I placed my order with Thom I shipped my Tri-Planar to him for mounting. He's the expert so I figured I'd let him do all the hard stuff plus I knew everything would be to spec. He also made minor adjustments to the arm like cueing that made things a little easier for me once the whole set-up arrived. Assembling the table was a breeze and so was installing the arm and making final adjustments.
An XV-1s sort of tops things off and without trying to steer me, Thom gave me enough info about cartridges he's used to help with my decision. It was pretty much between the Universe and Dynavector but again thinking about that "married with children" thing, I decided on the XV-1s. Also, I've heard the Dyna is a tad warmer so better suited to my tastes.
Regardless of which Galibier table you go with, I have no doubt you'll be one happy camper.
