Linear Tracking Turntables - Best??

for the money, a used maplenoll ariadne signature or reference is one of the best linear tracking tables around. I know i am biased about the tables but once set up and tuned, they are not fussy and produce beautiful music when pair with a good cartrridge and downstream equipment. they are very heavy, tough to initially set up due to the weight and delicate teflon bushing in the air bearing platter.Air setup is another critical variable that once set up right will be pretty easy to maintain. I currently use an apollo and ariadne signature setups and have been very pleased with both of them

Terminator/Salvation combo directly from the maker himself:

Trans-Fi Audio, UK

Foe the cost/performance equation:Kodo "the beat" and it's Schroder pivoted linear tracker is quite interesting...

I would only go air bearing. Love the ET 2, would also go mg1 or trans fi terminator. You don't have to spend a fortune and they don't require constant fussing . I think when people say that they are not very mechanically inclined. 

The problem with air-bearing arms is that the lateral mass is often a multiple of the vertical mass. So you can be tracking at the right weight for the cartridge, but the lateral mass can cause visible left-right motion in the cantilever. When this happens, the tracking error is significantly higher than that of a radial tracking arm!!

The solution is a cartridge with a lower compliance. This might not work out all the well when it comes to simple tracking, as the vertical component (mechanical resonance) might not be satisfied. 

I used to run a heavily modified Rabco arm many years ago that got around these problems- but then had other problems, most notably mechanical resonance in the track in which the arm ran. I do think linear tracking is the way to go, but have yet to see an embodiment that solves all the engineering problems.