I agree with Gregm. The Kenwood KD990 should be a good TT at its base. I personally have no experience with the 990. The 880 and the 1100 are nice tables which I have played around with. The 990, I believe (but someone else can probably say with more certainty), came after the 1100, with most of the same technology but with a lesser plinth material. The older Kenwoods had less torque than the Technics, but they cost a lot less and had a similar or higher inertia moment, and very low wow/flutter numbers, and the lower torque made for quite low rumble. FWIW, a lot of people here in Japan take the 1100 out of its plinth and use the 'spider frame' only (looks kind of like a Micro RX3000 that way) with additional footers or isolation under the existing footers. Most people who have tried never go back. I do not remember having seen a 990 opened up, but my understanding is that the 990 has the same spider frame inside. From what I have read, the arm was an 'upgrade' with solid core silver wire (as opposed to a copper litz on the 1100), and a slightly different method of attaching it to the plinth, but the cost 'savings' came in plinth material. My personal bet is that the 990 could be tricked out quite substantially if one really wanted.
BTW... there is absolutely nothing wrong with appreciating the end of record auto lift. It is a great thing to have. I have it on a few of the TTs I currently use, and I very much appreciate it.
