How do you choose a turntable ?

I currently have three turntables, but have owned a good bushelful of them. Explored belt, direct, and idler drives. The three tables I have are 

SOTA Cosmos Eclipse

Scheu Analog Das Laufwerk No 2

Denon DP80

The Sota is my benchmark. What I looked at are as follows

Motor quality and control, the AC motor and Phoenix Engineering controls are as good as you get for sane money

Quality of main bearing. The new magnetic system works fabulously. 

The quality of the sub chassis. This is in conjunction with a well executed suspension. 

The Scheu was bought because it has a high mass, and that type of table presents music a bit differently than a suspended one. The combination of materials is well thought out. The design allows for two arms. The motor control works, but is not as good as the Sota. I might think about fitting it with the Phoenix Engineering controller. 

The Denon DP80 is a fun project. This is one of the better direct drive tables. I believe in the split platter for isolation. The coreless motor seems to be the best implementation of the design. I like the ease of use. 

Each table has different arms. The Sota an Origin Live Agile. The Scheu has 10 and 12 inch Audiomods Series 6. The Denon will be paired with a Dynavector DV 505. 

@hb22 This is a 2nd attempt to respond to your post, don't understand what became of my first concerning the Holbo.  I use AnalogMagic to set up turntables and had trouble setting up a Holbo.  The one I was working on, the owner wanted to use a MC cartridge and the resonance was all wrong.  I wanted to try a higher compliance MM cartridge that we had on hand, but the owner had his heart set on using his MC.  Fortunately his McIntosh preamp had a subsonic filter so we made it work.  Don't get me wrong, the Holbo is a fine TT, but like every other, it is important to make sure to mate arm and cartridge carefully.   

Thank you for your compliment on the Holbo mk2 TT; it really is an excellent turntable. I am also glad that you sorted out the matter according to the customer's wishes and that he is very satisfied. I should also add, that a phono riaa preamp is useless without a subsonic filter! A subsonic filter is mandatory, regardless of which turntable/tonearm/cartridge you use.

Yes although it is worth pointing out that because the Holbo has a low mass tonearm it has difficulty mating with low compliance cartridges.  In practical terms that means it is much better suited to higher compliance cartridges such as many MM cartridges.  Please understand that is not a criticism, there is nothing wrong with that.  The Holbo is an excellent TT no question, but it would not be the best option if a person wanted to use a MC cartridge that is all I am saying.  I cannot support your contention that a subsonic filter is mandatory in all circumstances.  I prefer to get the resonance frequency of the arm and cartridge as close to the ideal 10 Hz as possible in order to forego the need for a subsonic filter.  If the resonance frequency is below 8 Hz then you are correct that a subsonic filter is required in most systems, at least where full range speakers and/or where subs are employed.

Maybe you are right, I would absolutely not argue with you. I can tell you that over 200 Holbo mk1 + mk2 turntables have been sold and that all customers use MC cartridges and seriously, I don't think any of them have MM. Personally, I can say that the Goldring 1042 is very good on a Holbo turntable.