Present analogue play back designs....Advanced?

Thank you all for your input

Is the SME 30 a vintage table? It isn't the cheapest, and it isn't the latest, and it may not be the best, but it has been near the top for 25 or more years and I read that they are still having trouble keeping up with demand.

With vintage tables I was thinking more along the lines of pure innovation, two come to mind the early Platine Verdier and Micro Seiki, brilliant designs.

Advances in materials, CNC manufacturing, and electronics should allow production of a more rigid, precise, and exact record playback system. The question is do you use these advances to make a better system? One you can produce for less but looks nice? Or one that looks uber fancy but doesn't offer real improvements? Unfortunately I think we have too many offerings in the last two categories - real innovation isn't easy.

My 30 year old Exclusive DD P10 is in the same ball park sonically as my TW Raven AC-3 - abeit slight differences in overall presentation.

Back in the mid/late 70's there was a lot more R&D spent by the big Japanese manufacturers than almost any small company today can afford.

I am sure folks using the upper models of technics, Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo would agree the technical know how that have gone into those tables are on a different level to what is produced today by the smaller often one man (but very dedicated) ventures that make turntable now.

That said, we should be grateful that the smaller analog manufacturers are around,thriving and doing an outstanding job.

I do agree that MC cartridges certainly have been refined in recent years.