Keep in mind that there's a reason why LTs aren't all that popular. There are just as many downsides as there are upsides - you're moving A LOT of mass in the horizontal plane compared to a pivoted arm, and it's not easy to do that.

I believe linear tracking tonearms loss popularity due to engineering complexity. Why sweat the bullets developing a killer linear arm when people seem happy spending $$$ on a unipivot balanced on a needle?!

Regarding the high lateral mass, this is the advantage of the Goldmund T-3. It's essentially servo controlled pivoted arm that moves on a linear track. To me you can get the best of both worlds if done properly, and if I were to develop a tonearm it would be along these lines.

Wow.  Reading this thread.   

*takes his Debut Carbon and walks home*

Givemevinyl's comments ring true. I never enjoyed vinyl more than when I was in college, and at the time I had an entry-level Rega and a very basic Stax setup, which was still pretty luxurious for a college student. Most if not all of my spare money (which wasn't much) went to buying music rather than gear though. One roommate at the time was always complaining about my records taking up space, and she'd periodically demand to know why I wouldn't just download stuff from iTunes. When I explained the appeal I just got an impatient stare.

Not only is it a pleasure to handle records (so long as you don't live in a dusty place --- then it's more a nightmare than anything), but it's also a good feeling knowing you're supporting small-time artists, labels, and businesses. Several of my friends actually do graphic design and make album covers for smaller labels, including one guy I know who spends months drawing ridiculous old school death metal covers by hand. There's an entire culture that goes along with record collecting, and most people are perfectly happy with their gear even if it doesn't cost as much as a new car.

On the flip side, I know folks live Dave aren't so much into that ancillary stuff but genuinely like vinyl because it often sounds better. The most straight forward reason for this is that better masters often make their way onto vinyl compared to their CD and downloadable counterparts. Mostly because people putting out vinyl are more likely to actually care about what they're doing (but certainly not always --- especially now that it has become more mainstream again). In my experience, you get some of the best bang for your buck by upgrading your turntable gear. Even spending more on a new cartridge can bring you a whole new level of enjoyment over something that comes standard with your table. In other words, diminishing returns are often less apparent when it comes to more expensive turntable gear versus other gear in my experience.

For me it's a little bit of both. Back when I was in college I thought audiophiles were silly. I still do, but now I have the luxury of being silly myself. Really though, enjoying music doesn't depend on this stuff for most people. Some of the best moments where I got most into what I was listening to came with my iBuds. Like they say about cameras: the equipment you have isn't as important as what you do with it.

As for linear tracking arms, I'll definitely give them another go at some point. I tend to think everything in this hobby has its trade-offs, that there's no free lunch so to speak, and with linear tracking arms it always seemed to be their extreme fussiness and unreliability that made them a compromise of sorts. In other words, they may have nothing but benefits musically, but most folks I know who have lived with them say they're an absolute bear to maintain. I know for some folks though that's part of the fun of maintaining an expensive rig. That's why someone I know has a Verdier Platine and isn't bothered pouring lubricant into it and catching it as it drips out onto the table below. Unipivots definitely have some major compromises and flaws of their own, but I admire their (relative) straightforwardness and elegance.

Looking at Goldmund, their Studio table is very highly regarded. I bet it sounds dreamy. it appears they no longer make turntables however, and that would worry me in terms of replacement parts and servicing. Hmm.

The loudness war mentioned above is exactly why I went to vinyl and I've really enjoyed the experience.  I also tend to listen to music more closely when there's a ritualistic nature to the listening experience, which is something vinyl clearly provides over digital.

My frustration is that I want the best of BOTH.  I've ripped a couple of records and I think they've come out alright, but it's a TON of work and I've still got sections that I'm not happy with due to my hardware/software limitations.  I'm glad that most records these days are coming with digital download cards, but the majority of them so far have been .mp3s which are pretty much worthless to me.  I've had one or two come with .flac downloads.  The day all records start going down that road will be a happy day indeed.