Well, as luck would have it I have owned both tables. I sold the Technics a few years ago and just received my JVC this weekend.
I was using a Technics SP 25 with a Origin Live modified Rega arm on a layered plywood plinth. I really liked the sound. The Technics would lock on to speed very well and started and stopped on a dime. I sold it because it never really engaged me like my then modified Ar XA. It could have been the arm and not the table, but something wasn't there for me. I tried a denon 160, a grado gold, an ortofon Mc 30 super, and neither of them did it for me on that table, but I really enjoyed the Rega arm on my AR XA so maybe that rules out the arm. I much more enjoyed the sound of my AR and even more so, my Yamaha pf 800 which is an amazing Turntable. The Yamaha is probably the best table I have owned. (Until the JVC) The motor is perfect, a DC FG Servo belt drive. Not dead quiet but spot on everywhere else and has adjustable pitch.
One might be tempted to say that I do not enjoy direct drive, but that is not the case. The table just did not give me what I wanted. I have just recently set up the JVC and probably only have 25 hours of listening on it, but it has an effortless quality that my other tables have not had. I have seen the mods on this site and have added a few but not all. The automatic functions are incredibly smooth. I no longer have any thought lurking in my head about having to get up and move the arm at the end of the record, or cuing, etc. This is purely psychological I will admit, but this does impact musical enjoyment somewhat.
Overall I like the JVC more then the technics and rank it above the Yamaha, but just slightly for now. Maybe as I get into more of the mods outlined here it will. rise in excellence. At this point I would put the technics in last place of the Tables I mentioned. This is just my opinion. I have not had a shootout. My listening habits may be different from others. I would stick with the jvc. If you go the technics route, it seems that an external power supply would be appropriate. The psu on the sp25 is inches from the platter. The sp25 really plays like a 1200 without the arm. Someone else will probably correct me, but i think it is basically a 1200 built for radio stations. That said, I currently have a 1200 torn apart down to the circuit boards for revamping and replinthing. I am going to try to use a homemade plinth and place the transformer etc outside the table. It may turn out worse than before, but experimentation never hurts. Plus I am looking for a reason to use my new powder coat gun
