Vintage direct drives can sound really nice. I have a Realistic LAB 440 and just picked up a JVC QL-Y66F, which is a pretty large table.
From what I've read, neither are in the same league as the GT-2000, but I can give a comparison of the QL-Y66F to the Music Hall 7.1. I have them sitting side by side in my main system. The Music Hall has a Van Den Hul MC TWO cartridge and is running through my Manley Chinook. The QL-Y66F is running through a Parks Puffin and has a Stanton 981 HZS cartridge. The Music Hall has a more expensive cartridge and phono stage, but the QL-Y66F holds its own. It's very detailed and the soundstage is very expansive. The Music Hall betters it in terms of isolation and has tighter bass and is a little quieter. The plinth of the QL-Y66F is pretty resonant and I can't turn it up as loud as the Music Hall. I'm going to try some damping inside the plinth and see how the QL-Y66F reacts.
The QL-Y66F is fully automatic and I like that I can just push a button and it starts and turns itself off at the end of a record. It's a really pretty looking turntable and I like the way it looks more than I do the Music Hall (which is a nice looking table in its own right).
From what I've read, neither are in the same league as the GT-2000, but I can give a comparison of the QL-Y66F to the Music Hall 7.1. I have them sitting side by side in my main system. The Music Hall has a Van Den Hul MC TWO cartridge and is running through my Manley Chinook. The QL-Y66F is running through a Parks Puffin and has a Stanton 981 HZS cartridge. The Music Hall has a more expensive cartridge and phono stage, but the QL-Y66F holds its own. It's very detailed and the soundstage is very expansive. The Music Hall betters it in terms of isolation and has tighter bass and is a little quieter. The plinth of the QL-Y66F is pretty resonant and I can't turn it up as loud as the Music Hall. I'm going to try some damping inside the plinth and see how the QL-Y66F reacts.
The QL-Y66F is fully automatic and I like that I can just push a button and it starts and turns itself off at the end of a record. It's a really pretty looking turntable and I like the way it looks more than I do the Music Hall (which is a nice looking table in its own right).