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

The Amadeus and Townshend Rock 7 are both excellent tables. I have given my comparison of their sound on a thread at Audio Circle, and the short of it is that I came to agree with the comparison given in Greene's reviews in The Absolute Sound.

MSRP of $3k will get you a lot of table, and what you prefer will likely come down to personal preference. The Classic and the recently introduced Avid table are others I would look at around these price points.

This is still a price point at which desginers will need to make trade-offs and compromises. I like the naked look of the Townshend, which was likely a cost-cutting measure (and I am fine in general with cost-cutting that might primarily be cosmetic in nature; my Avid phono pre is certainly nothing much to look at). The Amadeus' lack of suspension and use of MDF for the plinth are where that design saved money, it seems.

So I don't think these tables are necessarily among the best, but they are damn good and likely many (like myself) will feel an upgrade is unnecessary.

I wouldn't go that far Lloydc.

To continue the car analogy:

I'd consider something like the VPI Traveler or a comparably priced Rega to be analogous to a Civic.

A good $3k table would be more like a Golf GTI, a Mazdaspeed, or a high performance Subaru, or a Mini Cooper S.

Not the ultimate in performance, but surprisingly high performance for the buck. And can be tweaked to up the performance even more if you get the itch (though this applies less to the Amadeus, for better for worse).

And should we suppose from your last comment on the Townshend that this is a table your friend is also a fan of?