which turntable to buy for $1500 best value ?

On the WTL website the back side of the Simplex is visible where made in Beijing is proudly displayed. Where the back image of the Amadeus is on an angle and not visible. Whether that was intentional, that's your call. I have nothing against Opera Audio I have 4 Ella-Baby power cords and a PW-3 power strip in my system. IMO the Simplex and Amadeus are overpriced when compared to the Chinese built Hanns Acoustic tables.

"A used Soto Sapphire or Star or VPI Hw17 Mk IV will perform better than any of those tables mentioned."

No way in hell will either of those tables outperform an Amadeus.

Shakey

thanks for al the info, again simplex not an option. still hoping to hear about the marantz. i really like the look. where are the reviews on the rega rp6? i also have to mention after going on the vpi website, they say if you are looking to buy a tt under 1500, wait till april. anyone hear about that? wonder what there bringing. still thinking about the concept alot too. the rega 3-24 is nice but more in favor of a used p5 for the arm.

forgot to metion manitunc, i looked at the sota star which looks sweet. like the price, my only concern is i once looked at buying a used sota and the guy at a hifi store told me they can leak oil if shipped. not worth the risk. is there any truth to this? also if i did make this purcase would my rb 250 arm be a good fit for it [at least for a little while, thanks

Doesn't matter were Well Tempered are made. The design is just too simple. Bill Firebaugh built one out of junk materials at a show and it still worked better than most. If I'm not mistaken that's where the golf ball tone arm paddle came from.

The problem with most tables, especially the ones on your short list, are their metal bearings in the platter and the tone arm. They all have runout which leads to chatter and the tone arms are under dampened. Rega, Marantz, Sapphire, VPI, really? The Sota is the only competition for any Well Tempered but its bottom end is weak by comparison.

I have a new $4000 Benz Ruby Z mounted on a butt old square motor WT Classic with a bent wand that I bought as junk for $200 that I was going to fix and gift it to a friend. It blew my Aries away. The Well Tempered arm is the only arm I know of that can track ALL the tonearm modulation tracks on the Shure Test Record. My (good looking $5K) VPI Aries was sold and I bought my friend a cordless drill instead.

The Clearaudio Performance with a ceramic magnetic bearing at $2800 plus a cartridge would be the only other low cost high performance table that I would recommend.

If your serious about getting the best sound per dollar from your LP's this drab looking $1K Classic and a Benz Micro Silver is within your budget.

ttp://app.audiogon.com/listings/well-tempered-classic

If looks are your priority disregard this response.