Can a $3K table be among the best out there?

I just completed a Lenco rebuild. It outperforms my Rega P3, and VPI TNT (it had a Teres Verus rim-drive). With a little searching you can find a used Artisan Fidelity rebuild or a Jean Nantais in your price range. It is remarkable how good a properly rebuilt Lenco can reproduce music.

Vicdamone, you've gotta be cool if you admired Vic Damone, the poor man's Sinatra.

Vinylmad, As I see it the biggest weakness of the Classic is the motor and belt. The motor is nothing special and the belt is very elastic. The more elastic the belt the more it will cover up cogging from the motor. This comes at a cost though. The cost is smeared sound. This is not readily apparent unless compared to something that does not have this problem. I did not discover it was a problem until I bought a Teres outboard motor and used tape drive on the Classic instead. After switching back and forth it was obvious the tape drive was clearer sounding. With the tape drive I could hear speed inconsistencies (cogging) more clearly though. With my current direct drive TT the Technics SP10 mk2a I have neither problem. The other problems of the Classic are minor and can be solved by tweaking such as using different footers etc.

Really good drive systems are expensive and I don't expect to see really good ones on new $3k TT's. If your budget is $3k I would not worry about it too much unless you are comfortable with DIY and can build a plinth yourself. If so you can experiment with a Lenco, Technics SP10 or other vintage DD TT's. I have not heard Lewm's Kenwood L-07d but it looks like a winner and does not need a plinth.

I have heard some very good belt drives and the best was the TechDas Air Force One. It uses a non elastic fiber belt with a rubber coating to grip the platter. I believe the motor is servo controlled as well. It may have some give due to the rubber coating but it's not much. Most of the really good belt drives are very spendy though.

Some people don't like the sound of DD tables and prefer the sound of belt drive. If they are both done well they both sound good to me. The only way to find out what you prefer is to get out and hear as many different setups as you can.

Without a cartridge, a good working Thorens TD124 or Garrard 301 with birch wood plinth and a 12" Ortofon or SME arm may cost around $3,000~3,500. Not many TTs at under $4K would beat that, if any.

I hate to even consider characterizing anything in such absolute terms as "best," so given the ambiguity of how broad "among the best" can be, I would agree with Ihcho that a good working Thorens TD 124 or a Garrard 301 or 401 could be "among the best." I know a few fans with systems well above $100k in price who use these tables as their preferred vinyl source. The music just seems to have a lot of punch, rhythmic drive and dynamics -- if those qualities are high priorities to a listener, these are great tables.