Hello,
I own and have owned many turntables. Despite having a recent model P3 with the outboard power supply, I am not a Rega fan. They are neither high mass, nor suspended. It was bought as an interim machine when the speed regulation went south on my SOTA and I had not yet convinced myself to spend the money for a TechDas. After the Rega I bought a base LP12, a Majik with the new bering. I had the dealer upgrade it at purchase time to a Lingo so I did not have to change the belt to play 45 rpm LPs. The arm did not cue properly so I took the table back to the dealer and went to an Ekos SE. This combination with my Lyra Etna Lambda SL or Linn Kandid is very good. I now have a TechDas Air Force Premium III S witha Triplanar U2 SE, but the Linn was really not that far behind in sound quality. Hopefully soon I will get it to my dealer and let him put the Kandid back on it. The Kandid is Lyra made and sounds like the old Helikon to me. Clear but a touch thin.
Point being, a properly configured LP12 can hold it's own with just about any table currently produced. And considering aesthetics, mine has the piano black plinth and I think it looks quite good.
You folks be careful,
Robert