Turntable options

I run a Koetsu Coralstone (plus others) on my Master Innovation and absolutely love it. It is pure, musical joy. Worth the ludicrous expense (and make no mistake - for me this is a LOT of money). But it has been a long-ish road. I started with an Innovation Wood, and it’s an awesome table - but I didn’t have the right isolation. You need a great rack, or a good rack plus some help (e.g. Stillpoints feet, HRS or CMS platform). Your floor will also be a factor. I had a poor rack with no help (filling legs with lead shot did NOTHING) and an "OK" floor, and now I’m hearing what I was missing then. I currently use a Critical Mass Maxxum rack and Stillpoints Ultra SS under the table. Not a cheap solution, but results have been worth it. If I had to do it over on a budget, I’d still try to eek in at least $2K for CMS or HRS platform, maybe a few bills for stillpoints, and plop that on a 4-post rack with as much rigidity as possible for the money (AVOID the modular/stackable stuff, especially those cheap VTI racks).

I came to the Innovation Wood from a SOTA Star, and now I see how much that SOTA’s suspension protected me from the ill affects of poor isolation. The move was a downgrade in some (but not all) ways. But now that I’ve addressed isolation issues, there’s no way that the SOTA could reach the level of performance wrought by an Innovation. I also really appreciate fine-tuning cartridge alignment while it’s NOT sitting on springs!

Koetsu can be a great match for these tables - BUT not with a ClearAudio arm. Koetsus require something different from what they provide (I’ve tried on a 12" Universal - no go). In general the lighter arms are a no-go for Koetsu. Carbon fiber is REALLY a no-no. You can switch to a Shelter Harmony, which will give some (but not all) of the Koetsu midrange magic while also matching beautifully with the ClearAudio arms. Or you can pick an alternate arm. My Graham Phantom Supreme was a pretty good match to Koetsu - it extracted a lot (but not all) of its magic. But finding a used Fidelity Research FR64fx or 64S will allow you to extract all of the Koetsu magic. I use Ikeda headshells on mine.

Inna -

thanks for the feedback. I listen to ALL music!

my system consists of
-Wilson Yvette’s
- Pass Lab 250.8 amp
- Pass Lab x20 pre amp
-Manley Chinook phono pre
- Core Audio equipment stand. 

Your phono stage will be inadequate for the level you are aiming at.
I'll just mention some other brands: SME, TW Akustic, Nottingham, Pear Audio, VPI.
Not everyone's, of course, not mine either, but SME is always an excellent choice, and they have been around forever.

Thanks - can you elaborate on why the Manley pre isn’t adequate? Not sure I’m tracking with you. 

Thanks Inna

Rome wasn’t built in a day. I did find that the Steelhead, despite its enormous flexibility and some serious tube rolling, was holding my system back. But by that time, i had the good-better turntable(s) in place.
You’ll get there. @mulveling ’s comments re arm for Koetsu are well taken. I’ve just entered Koetsu land and am delighted!
I also kept talking about adding a second arm but deferred it, since i thought- well, I’ll spend the money on the best cartridge I can find for my taste and system and why have more money tied up in a second arm, cartridge, etc. (I don’t really do much with mono, certainly not enough to justify a separate arm and with the XL, a separate tower, which itself isn’t so cheap). But, I finally bit the bullet -again, nothing ’instant’ about any of this- and will have the flexibility to experiment with different cartridges (and possibly arms- a vintage arm would be nice too).
Look at it this way- take your time, don’t buy into the hype, see if you can get some ’face time’ with some of these turntables- it really is impossible to assess different turntables, arms and cartridges in a dealer or show context-- a subject that was addressed in another thread--and then jump.
I guess my only point of emphasis is that a turntable that has good isolation as part of the package, not just some rubber feet or whatever, may allow you to avoid the not inconsiderable cost of things like HRS, Minus K or some other flavor of fancy isolation. (I like Stillpoints and use em, but those add up too, all money that could be spent on the best table, arm and cartridge combination you can put together, and not necessarily the most expensive or bling-y-est).
Remember, this is supposed to be FUN!
:)