My Turntable Collection.....

Tobaccoleafpie, I was just setting one up, so this is a little diversion for me. I will now expose what a retro hermit I am:
Rega P3 (modified)
Rega Planar 25
Thorens TD-2001
Harman/Kardon T65C
Harman/Kardon T55C
Harman/Kardon hk720
Denon DP-62L
Denon DP-60L
Kenwood KD-750
Kenwood KD-650 (two of 'em)
Kenwood KD-5070
Technics SL-1200mk2

I had been a closet audiophile since around 1975, but my paper route and saving for a car was not compatible with acquisition of the high-end Kenwood equipment that I lusted for. I bought a quality cassette deck and integrated amp, built some acoustic suspension speakers, and taped all of my friends' LPs. This was my system until I met my wife-to-be in college. She and I thought that H/K
gear was really classy and built a system together, which rotated between my and her apartments. This one system served until I completed graduate school and began acquiring the stuff I had wanted that whole time.
As can be seen, I equally enjoy heavy japanese direct-drives and neoclassic belt-drives. You will obseve that about half of my tables have auto-lift, which I consider essential-- There's nothing worse than being totally relaxed by the last 23 minutes of music, half a glass of good cab still in the glass, and deciding whether to let the stylus grind away in the lead-out groove. The KD-5070 is fully automatic and is interesting in that Kenwood used two motors to drive the heavy platter and arm mechanism separately-- sound quality does NOT suffer.

Mechans, I really like the design of vintage linear trackers, but have avoided them for the reasons that you state. My only experience is with the very cheap, disposable ones that use P-mount cartridges, which are fine on consumer-grade systems and always seem to work well. The only thing I can suggest is to find a tech who also likes linear trackers-- I once knew one who used a high-end one as his only table and kept it maintained.

This is just in case Joeatlas is still there... I got involved in restoring a '70 Corvette coupe in '08 and my correspondence and sanity got really sketchy for two years...

I really love two classic japanese DD designs: The Kenwood KD-650-750 and the Denon DP-60L, DP-57/62L, and DP-59L. None are as higher-end and worthy of acquisition as Lewm's above, but they are relatively easy to find and provide that late-70's to early-80's golden age of vinyl experience.

The KDs are heavier than all but high-end exotica; the 650 has a few features that are retro-forward: Soft-touch controls and VTA adjustment on the fly (unless you acquire a 600 without the very adequate Kenwood arm. Visually, it has the classic white-grey corian look pioneered by the KD-500. The 750 has a great arm and a titanium headshell; it lacks the soft-touch controls and substitutes clunkier, conventional buttons and a dark "kingrose" veneer over the limestone composite chassis. Same motor, same performance. I mount better cartridges on my 750, and use the 650s with everyday cartridges as I prefer the retro-luxury of the soft-touch controls. I also have the ds-21 ring clamp originally intended for the L-07D, which also fits the 600/650/750 platter. If you are building a rig around your cartridge, I would go with the 750 or a 600 with arm of preference, but the 650 arm is adequate. Performance/stability of the KDs is better than that of the DPs. I won't get into wow/flutter, pitch stability, bass, blackness of backgrounds, etc., I'll just leave it at that, for all the above parameters. I own and enjoy a SL-1200, and enthusiastically recommend them, but the KD presents itself as more serious in every tangible and audible way. The KD-750 owner's manual reads like a Master's Thesis on turntable design.

I love my DP-60 and 57/62Ls for two reasons: They have the appearance that I lusted for in my undergrad days and which I associate with my greatest desire to own vinyl, and they have an excellent auto-drop/auto-lift system. The 60L arm is in a class with the KD-650, although not quite as easily adjustable. I would imagine that of the Denons I list, the 60L S-arm is closest to your needs. The 62/57 (and 59) have the Servo Tracer dynamic control that theoretically allows a greater compliance range and less-than-flat records, but it just doesn't have the mass that I would associate with classic lower- or medium compliance cartridges... Ooops, they originally came with two arm wands, including a heavier S-arm, as did the 60L, but I use the straight arms exclusively with the robotic-looking Servo Tracer housings, and the S-arm with the 60L's conventinal bearing system... I believe that each works better this way, but my belief is not based on extensive testing by any means. Auto-lift is essential if you become incredibly relaxed or otherwise engaged, and I use these in my bedroom system, along with mellower omnidirectional speakers.

Sorry if the above is very basic and not technically helpful. After completing the Corvette, I proved with a very expensive experiment that newer cars are better in every objective measure, but they're not as cool, and the emotional impact is different. I feel the same way about my Kenwoods and Denons. I use them for their "feel," and obsessively tweak my Regas and suspended belt-drives. For me, the direct-drive table is for musical and visual enjoyment, so I am not overly critical of their discrete faults or limitations. However, the KD-750 will never embarrass you in any way if you stick to medium-compliance cartridges.

Lewm, I have tried it, but secondarily-- One KD650 that I bought for $65 already had its platter shielded. It also had an IEC socket and cord, and an Audio Fidelity FR1mk3F mounted with the stylus snapped off, which I had re-tipped by Peter at SoundSmith. We are not the first to appreciate the potential of these tables, as another project KD650 I bought cheaply had a DL301 mounted.