SME 20/3 or Oracle Delphi VI or Garrard 301

Manidj Good luck with your quest for a new turntable thirty year's with a single component certainly stood the test of time.
Whatever you choose I'm sure you will be delighted.

Asking a question which way you should spend your money most respondent's would like to to do just that, help spend your money.

You welcome other's thoughts well here's mine.
Take your time ,you already proved your patience with your Oracle.
Be wary of evangelistic type people in this hobby.

Keep an open mind to new improved solution's for thought to be antiquated turntable drives.

I wholeheartedly agree with Lewm here and others elsewhere like Steve Dobbin's, Win Tinnon, Mike Lavigne, Albert Porter, Jonathan Carr, Thuchan, Jean Nantais and Arthur Salvatore just to name a few.

Dear Inna, I am beginning to think you don't think I think outside the box. Somehow, this does not trouble me. Obviously, we all live in our own boxes and escape to novel thinking is different for each of us. I hate the phrase "think outside the box" anyway; it was clever once but now it has become just as much of a cliche' as thinking inside the box. (Name is "LewM", by the way.)

The fact is that I have been a devoted audiophile since the early 70s. I lived through all the fads in turntable design and construction. I was totally sold on belt-drive up until a few years ago. In fact, I never owned anything but belt-drives, starting with an AR turntable in the 70s. Then I heard a Lenco at a friend's house. That experience stimulated me to buy a nice condition Lenco L75 and to start to modify it per Lenco Heaven, etc. The Lenco completely blew away my then Nottingham Analog Hyperspace, which I still consider to be a great belt drive turntable. After that, I got interested in vintage direct-drive turntables, slate as plinth material, etc, etc. I have no beef with belt-drive turntables per se, but I get performance out of my tweaked Lenco, my SP10 Mk3, and my L07D that continues to please me and is far more cost-effective than buying a belt-drive turntable at the price point that might even dream of competing with what I own.

Yep, just a different box. Very sorry for the OT rant. The L07D needs an RFI/EMI shield between the platter and the platter mat, in order to really shine, by the way, which is why the OP might not have appreciated it back in the late 80s. I made one out of TI Shield, for $40.

I think one of the main differences I'm seeing here is that I am maybe not an "audiophile".
I have been listening to music on reasonably nice gear since the early 70's but I have never in that time played the change game with any kind if regularity.
In that time I have owned maybe 4 different amps/pre amps, 3 different speaker systems, 2 tables ...you get the picture.
I just want to hear my albums in as realistically and emotionally stimulating fashion as possible.
I'm not a dd, belt drive or idler drive person just as I'm not a valve or transistor guy.
I'm a music lover.
Don't get me wrong...I like gear.
I read the mags and lust after some of the mouthwatering stuff I see...but I just don't have the time or money to feed that lust.
I stated above that I was bending toward the TW. (only to have a poster warn me of the encroaching storm????)
But when I got down to adding up all the Raven upgrades that these folk have said I would want, suitable arm and cart, isolation platform...I was spending $25k plus. Well for that coin I can buy a reasonably nice Caterham/Lotus Seven. Guess what I'm choosing!
I am very intrigued by the old stuff....301, Lenco, some DD's. However I have no chance of listening to them and they obviously have a "sound". That worries me a bit.
I am in the slightly unfortunate position of having to play it a bit safe here knowing that I might not end up with the ultimate solution...but reading these posts I'm not sure anyone here has reached that nirvana point either.
I do know that I am genuinely thankful for all the time and effort the posters here have spent helping me with this decision.
It is a fraternal group indeed despite the polarizing nature of the hobby.
I asked for more input and I sure got it....of course I am no better off for it from the standpoint of reaching a decision ;-)
Confusion continues to reign!
Many mahalos and a big Aloha to you all !

LewM....As an aside.....I really love the look of the modified Lencos. Yeh I know that one doesn't buy on looks but there is an emotion attached to that value that does drive us for sure. Out of interest what is your take on the Artisan Fidelity units? I'm assuming you prefer the Lenco over the 301?

I don't know anything about Artisan Fidelity. Is that an idler-drive turntable? In my initial idler frenzy, I bought a 301 grease-bearing chassis at about the same time I bought the Lenco. After I heard the Lenco, and realizing that upgrading the Garrard might cost a few thousand or more bucks and not sound any better than the Lenco, I sold the Garrard chassis without ever having heard it. So, I cannot claim to know that the Lenco is better or worse than a similarly upgraded Garrard 301/401. (I refuse to form any opinion unless I have had something in my own home system for audition.) That first Lenco had a Jean Nantais wood plinth. I subsequently sold it and moved on to make my own slate plinth for a nice used L75 I found on eBay. On my Lenco, I use a "PTP" chassis and an aftermarket bearing made by "Jeremy" in England. (All of the relevant info can be found on Lenco Heaven.) Actually, until I got into this craziness, I was like you; I very rarely ever changed my system. Maybe once every 4-5 years I would replace one component or another with something new. I never before 2-3 years ago owned more than one tt at a time or more than one tonearm or cartridge. For 35 years I have favored tube preamps and OTL tube amplifiers mated with ESL or other planar speakers. Still do. I am pretty boring and predictable in that regard, like Inna says.