Does a record player make that much of a difference??

Tweak1, I’ll bite. What are you going to do with the Variac?

I should never have thought of using one as an SUT!

But then again......no, not a Variac built as a power supply, but if an autoformer would work as an SUT, one could see it being interesting. Variable turns ratio/gain, but coupled with varying load. Presumably one sweet spot for each cartridge.

The phono cartridge, and the phono stage may make the most sonic difference, but the TT is more important.

If the TT is not doing its job correctly (spinning at the correct speed, suppressing airborne and vibrational noise, ’sinking’ record and motor noise through the platter and plinth, etc. It won’t matter how good your cartridge and phono stage are.

And of course, the better the rest of the system is (amps, preamp, speakers, etc) the more noticeable improvements in the TT will become.

Let me add, that last year, my rich audiophile cousin upgraded his TT from a Clear Audio Ovation, to a Kronos Pro, using the same arm, cartridge, phono stage. 

And there was most certainly a substantial improvement.

I wish Nandric was around to give everyone struggling with the question a lesson in semantics.  There is no common vocabulary or an agreement on concepts that ties the disparate claims together.  Thus this thread can go on forever or ad nauseam, whichever comes first.