which turntable to buy for $1500 best value ?

Shakey,
No way in hell will either of those tables outperform an Amadeus.

I was referring to the OP's list of possible turntables, not other's references. I have no experience with the Amadeus, so I cant comment on its performance.

A used Soto Sapphire or Star or VPI Hw17 Mk IV will perform better than any of those tables mentioned. The are often found with Rega or Sumiko arms. There is an awesome Sota Star with Linn Ittok for sale here now. Not affiliated with seller, but i have that exact combo and it sounds excellent.

Smognote.
There is no oil in a Sota. I have purchased, sold and shipped many Sota Star, Sapphire and Cosmos and have never heard or seen anything regarding leaking oil.

As for a rega 250, It will work fine. I have an audiomods IV mounted on a Sota Cosmos which sounds awesome. You might want to look into getting the audiomods work done to your Rega 250. It is a bargain for what you get,.

lewm,
The early Sotas, the ones with the black top plate, metal control cover plate and wood sides, sometimes had an issue with pitch stability. I have owned a couple of those. However, the Sotas from Series III on do not have that issue. Series III tables have wood tops and control cover to match the rest of the table. Sota has had 30 years to develop and refine their product, whose basic theory of operation has not changed. Tweaking an already good product for that period of time usually results in a great product.

lewm
My only knowledge of the Sotas is what I have owned and listened to. I have a Cosmos, and two Stars now, or did until I sold one today. None of them have a pitch problem that I have noticed. But, the Star IIIs were made for a long time, so not all may be the same. My serial numbers were in the 30000s.
The Cosmos has the motor mounted to the same board as the bearing and platter, so there is no change in space between the motor and platter when the suspension moves, which is a main cause of pitch problems in suspended tables.

I also may not be as tuned in to pitch changes as you.

Glad we could help with your decision. As you have found out, there are lots of opinions and experiences with turntables. One of my favorites is the Oracle Alexandria II, which for conventional looking tables just gets the look right and sounds as good as the same vintage Delphi II. While my Sota Cosmos has a classic wood look, my delphi V and Transrotor Fat Bob have that mecho/art look to them. The well tempered tend more to the classic side of looks.
And as for runout, along with Well Tempered, the Oracle Delphi V and VI used nylon pins on opposing sides to center the platter shaft, 3 on top and 3 on bottom at 120 degrees from each other. Under load, the shaft has no play, and therefore reduced micro vibrations. My Fat Bob uses a magnetic bearing to hold the platter away from the bearing surface. Its more involved than that, but again, another way of doing it.
Enjoy