I gave up long ago trying to get a good understanding of a components sound outside my own system. No matter what it is it will take on a different sound in each system and room; the sound you hear may not be the sound you will get. These days I try to select items that were liked by reviewers who I think have the same general tastes as I do and have a high level of potential for good sound. The process of getting the maximum of the kind of sound you want is not easy; I attribute many of the sales on Audiogon to a lack of patience in this process. I have had my Gamut L 5s since last fall and am still far from finished in the process of final set up. Just moving them in the room or changing the way they face into the room can make them sound quite different, let alone different cartridges, cables etc. The SME tables are very good from everything I hear; I was an SME dealer but before they made tables.
But from my own experience with tables I think I can safely say that there are many good ones, however, they sound quite different. In the last couple of years I have used Basis [Ovation, 2001] VPI [TNT. Aries Extended, Scoutmaster, Scout] Linn [modified LP 12] and listened to a Raven with Graham Phantom at two friends houses. All these tables sounded different and each of the top ones had points of superiority over the others. The big tables have a greater degree of effortless power and stability while the lighter suspended tables seem a little more agile to me, YMMV. My point is that it is almost impossible to tell in advance the exact nature of the sound or how you will like it. The main reason I have been a small dealer for decades is so I can listen to different components without going broke. Of course, with todays prices even buying as a dealer is too expensive with many products.
The whole trick in audio [gospel according to Stan] is to get a system that YOU find musically satisfying. I have just about got there myself [after 50 years] . Mine is certainly not the ultimate in any respect but I have reached the point where I cannot think of anything I WISH I had rather than what I actually have; I fear the end may be near.
