I have lost interest in almost all typical so called high end belt-drive turntables that has platters bigger than my rice cooker. The bigger and heavier approach is bordering on the vulgar these days. Aesthetically the Simon Yorke table is eye candy for me and the VPI HRX is an eyesore to me. There are a few BD tables that, at least, look quite elegant and seem to be well engineered, such as the Brinkmann LaGrange, et al. I am a direct drive kinda guy so all my dream machines are from the golden age of DD tables, ie, late 70's to 80's. But it's nice to see a modern DD design like the Monaco and it's also great to know someone actually here heard one and decided to buy one over the SME, which puts a smile in my face. Now, I just need to hear one for myself!