I tried to cheap out - one table, one arm, and multiple head shells with different cartridges. Problem was there was too much adjustment in fine tuning each set up when you changed head shell/cartridge. Next came a turntable and two tone arms. A much more elegant and much more simple to operate and still get good results. Problem was that limited options for turntables which you could set up for two arms
Ultimately the best and easiest to set up and manage was using two tables. One was quartz locked with a MM cartridge, the other was a belt driven with a MC cartridge. I used only one preamp which allowed two turntables and had impedance selection controls to match cartridge selection (A now old ARC). If I were to do this again today I would do the two tables first if for no other reason than for the reduction of angst involved in getting the best SQ out of a multipurpose set up involving only one table.
So I guess I would look in a mirror and ask myself ’how much do I really want the best SQ or am I willing to sacrifice a bit of SQ for the convenience of use, or for sure, the expense. Big bunch of tradeoff’s. Your call.