SME engineering is certainly a draw card for me.
In the test results accompanying the HiFi News review of the SME15, the measured rumble for the 15 "bests the TechDAS Air Force Two by a very small margin" (the rumble test result for the SME20/3 was slightly better again). That is pretty impressive for a thrust bearing vs an air bearing in a very expensive turntable.
I know it’s only a single measure/ingredient to the turntable sound, but an important one for sure and no doubt accounts for the ’inky black’ backgrounds the SME tables are known for. Noise introduced through the bearing to the record can’t be fixed or compensated for elsewhere - though we are probably talking about levels below commercial pressing limits.