I am the happy owner of a Michell Gyro SE, so regard me as biased. Very biased, as is the English audio press, where a lot of information about this table can be found. Was just mentioned in , of course, an English mag as the best choice for entry level high end sound. No argument from me.
Good luck on your enjoyable journey.
I have little to add, other than the general advice I use when buying unfamiliar items. I try to find the top of the line designs available, and then try to find design elements i like that I might not have been aware of, or design elements in common with the lower priced items that I might buy. Without any price point constraints, you find a lot of design concepts available, yet if a common thread is found that is shared among a fair amount of tables it might point the way.
For instance, three point suspension. A simple concept, in that three points define a circle, and records are round. If you believe that a simple design is better, this could be a feature placed on the desirable features list. (simple is very hard to do very well, but is very good to own)
For myself, I put a lot of attention on the main bearing. I knew I wouldn't be upgrading that, whereas motors and pretty much anything else that can be removed can be upgraded. Upgrading is not really the point with a new purchase, I know, but I was shopping for long term ownership. I wound up with the Michell and an oil pumping inverted bearing, made of brass. I understand and like oil lubrication for bearings and this was a part of a well accepted design. No doubt the other more modern materials also work well, but I know what wear characteristics will happen with synthetic oil through the years, and brass sounds good. Most of the big tables are using long chain solid polymers, teflon and the like for platter bearings, as you know.
Hard to answer with out falling into cheerleading for my own past decisions. A large part of my decision was the availability of a matching arm with adjustable VTA on the Fly, which can be done with the Michell arm on the Gyro, with some care. Not an advertised benefit, but that's life on a budget, you find what you want that works in your price range ,
