Linn sondek vs sme

  I recently purchased an Sme 20/2 with an SME IV.Vi arm and like it much more than the LP-12 it replaced.  Back in May I had a new Akito, Cirkus, and Trampolin put on it.  It also was running with an Origin Live DC Drive.  

Many people think the Linn sounds better to them, and they’re probably right.  We all hear differently and my joy may be the next guys disgust.  I wish my audio nirvana was a close and play.

Now that I think about it, the fellow who's buying my Linn said his father had an SME 20/2 with the SME V arm and got rid of it because he liked jazz recordings more when he had the LP-12, so now he's happy again with his Linn.

This is interesting,  

The hardcore Linn Sondek enthusiast (not to mention dealer!) is talking about a different thing than non-Linn turntable owners/users/dealers when speaking of a table's quality. Linn's whole rational and priority is in how a table "plays the tune", considering how it presents PRAT (pace, rhythm, and timing) the main criteria in the determination of a table's ability to reproducing music, rather than mere sound. Other table brands are often described first and foremost in terms of their tonal balance, bass extension and tightness, high frequency clarity, inner detail, etc. A table CAN excel in both PRAT and purely sonic regards, of course. 

I guess I'm not much of a 'Linnie'! I have no interest in the term PRAT or for that matter 'playing the tune;. To me, the table needs to reproduce what's on the record as close to the sound of 'real' live instruments playing in an acoustic space as possible. As to playback, I think the sound of the master tape is typically as good as one can get, or expect....IF my table is getting close to that sound, I am pretty happy. 
BTW, I think abucktwoeighty would have been very well served by updating his LP12, but not with the Akito and OL DC drive..The Radikal D and Ekos SE, or the new AMG 9 arm, would have been my choice.

How important is the Keel in the order of upgrade ?