TT suggestion in the $7 - 10K range?

Re Sota Star Sapphire w/vacuum: I owned one for many years. It is a very nice turntable. After that, I have owned a Notts Hyperspace, upgraded Lenco, Denon DP80, Kenwood L07D, Technics SP10 Mk2 and Mk3. ALL of these turntables were and are superior to the Star Sapphire in my system, in my opinion. There are issues with pitch stability and bass response, as regards the Star. However the Star Sapphire costs less, but that's irrelevant to the OP. If Sota is a choice then one should stick to the Cosmos or Millenium. If the OP should luck out and find a Kenwood L07D, which usually can be had for about $4000 or less, that would be my choice on a cost-effective basis.

"…just buy a used Micro Seiki and don’t worry about turntables anymore; built like a tank and sounds better than TTs costing over 30K USD.”

Mr. Ikeda, of Ikeda / Fidelity Research

I agree, if you want my opinion, Avoid SME 20/V turntables,very expensive not justify the price, any Micro Seiki RX-1500G is superior in all aspects.

A VPI JMW 12.7, Graham Phantom B-44, or a Tri-Planar VII ultimate outperforms any SME tonearm.

TW ACUSTIC wonderful sound and world class service.

Bifwynne Are you now happy with the cartridge you have in your Classic? I have a 10.5i VPI arm, and if set up properly (not hard..just do it properly) I haven't come across too many cartridges that won't work. Some like Shelters need additional weight on the front end, some like the Benz LPS, need additional weight on the back end, some like Clearaudio/Grado can use damping, but I found that there are many cartridges an owner can use with this arm.

Stringreen, all is good. I settled on the Sound Smith VPI Zephyr, which I understand was designed with the VPI Classic in mind -- or so I heard. The DV 20X worked ok too, but the Zephyr is better. I suspect that low compliance/heavy carties work best with the 10.5i arm. My first try was the CA Maestro Wood -- damn think rang in the lower registers. Drove Mike and me crazy, but could not resolve it. Even tried adding a 3 gram head weight and stepped up to the Classic 3 arm wand. I bet another 3 grams might have turned the trick. Anyway, that's all behind me now. Glad to hear that there are choices like the Benz LPS. If I ever get ready to switch out, I'll e mail you for some specific carty suggestions.