seeking turntable recommendations

For a little bit more money, you can get the Well Tempered Amadeus. SOTA performance for such a measly sum. I own one and I cannot be happier! Bill Firebaugh is a genius! The Amadeus is special because it virtually emilinates the single most significant problem turntable designers have to tackle: friction! Most turntables, no matter how fancy and complex, have bearings and other friction-prone materials in their spindles and tonearms. The Well-Tempered has none! Once you've heard this "frictionless" performance, other TT's sound murky and opaque by comparison and there's no going back! Before you splurge, I urge you to find a dealer and listen to one. Happy holidays!

Totally agree with everything Aisip said. My Amadeus is amazing!

In my haste and excitement to share my audio bliss, I forgot to mention the other problems that the Amadeus also solves with its unique design. In addition to friction, it also eliminates bearing chatter and other microscopic mechanical vibrations common to conventional spindle and tonearm designs. 4musica, what cartridge are you using? I'm very happy with my Shelter 7000. Transient attacks are explosive and the mids are glorious! I hope other Amadeus owners would chime in. Happy holidays!

Aisip - I am using the Dynavector XX2 MKII unbalanced (Auditorium 23 ICs) into the ARC PH7 and then into an ARC Ref 3. This has proven to be a very special combination. I find it more than a little amusing and very gratifying that the Amadeus/XX2 is the least expensive of my four TT setups, but musically (which is all that matters!) it is clearly the 2nd best setup. I have yet to see a used Amadeus offered for sale; I think that also says a lot for how the Amadeus has been received so far. Happy Holidays!

Dear Aisip, I am glad you like your Amadeus, but this nonsense about no bearings in the Firebaugh products gets me down a bit. I know it's not your fault or your idea. But, a pivoted tonearm cannot not have a bearing. A platter cannot not spin on a bearing. Not in a Newtonian universe, at least.