I'd like to hear recommendations for Turntables under $5,000

The 1200g arm is a redesign made of magnesium.  Some of the better arms today are made out of magnesium.  There may be better arms out there, however this arm sounds great with cartridges priced at 4K and up.  So with that being said, you could always get a different arm down the road if you so choose to and you may not. lol.  The 1200 g does things that most belt drives cannot.  Listen to a piano and drums on the 1200G, then go listen to a 10K and up belt drive and see how that works out.  There will always be tradeoffs but it is worth a listen for sure.

I'm surprised that nobody has suggested the Linn Sondek LP12. It is by far the best turntable money can buy. In any universe!

I purchased a VPI Prime TT a year or so, ago. I spent a month trying to isolate the table. (sand box, slate on an inner tube, Maglev feet, isopods, and finally I purchased a Symposium Segue ISO. Which finally got the table to 98% isolated. Not a sound with the needle on a stationary record and 75% volume. nothing got to the speakers. I have to say this is when they first came on the market and VPI is a great company regarding customer service. I actually got 2 emails from Mark about the problem. I could always hear something not right at med to high volume levels. I kept the table a month or so and finally gave up. I am just not a fan of the 3D arm. I would have to go for the Mitchell Gyre or a Clearaudio Performance DC. The Mitchell seems to have better isolation which is very important.

I don't think you can avoid listening to the new Technics 1200(both of them), before you decide on a turntable.  Just on YouTube, I found its presentation to be a viable alternative to other presentations(from other turntables). And I am someone who didn't care for older DD's at all.

atmasphere - Lets say I wanted to put a 9 inch triplanar arm on the 1200G.  would I still be able to close the dustcover?