I spent time listening to the Stabi R recently, which used a 4 Point 11 arm attached to the arm wing. I'm coming from a VPI Prime with some mods, and I wanted the next rung as a proper reference table - my phono preamp and cartridge were significantly upgraded and I felt the VPI was holding me back.
I've eyed the Garrard 301 as well as Lenco, and spent considerable time looking at various options. The Garrards are lovely and visually gorgeous too with the optional third party plinths. They’ve all sounded nice, but as you note, they have a certain sound.
What made me pause was the upkeep and options - I've spent loads of $$$ restoring many vintage cars/bikes and the Garrard reminded me of the cost and challenge of dealing with older gear, as good as these tables sound and perform. The price to get into a 301 or 401 and bring it up to snuff, plus support it long term, made me rethink what I was after for my "end game turntable".
The Kuzma impressed me with its engineering and build quality, and the Stabi R's design allows for long term compatibility with whatever I might choose to pursue on the arm front. For the cost of entry, I feel there is a lot of great engineering and value, and the ease of swapping tonearms appealed to my desire to play with optional multiple tone arms, similarly the 4Pt11’s head shell design appeals to my desire of swapping cartridges with minimal pain. Their belt design seems so much more advanced than the belt setups on other tables - while I bought a second belt I’m not planning on needing to change it out.
I pulled the trigger on the Kuzma with a 4Pt11 arm mounted on the arm wing, and added an extra arm balcony and a modified Jelco arm. Overall it was a bit more than I anticipated spending, but I feel I have a table that will be my last purchase. I also added the four optional feet that are used on Kuzma’s platform - the Stabi R’s feet mount right on them (there is even an indented cup that seems tailor made for the Stabi R’s pointed feet.
I did sweat a bit over choosing the lovely walnut plinth (which limits the use of multiple tonearms) and ultimately chose not to include it - I think the arm wing is a more stable mount for the arm, and I can always change my mind later and add it should I choose, but the choice of being able to use two tone arms is appealing for now.