Marc, why do you think running a top class idler and DD would be "living the dream" any more than owning a top class belt drive and either an idler or DD? Having little experience with the various drive typologies, based on what I have read, I would have presumed that idler and DD are more similar in overall character than either is to a belt drive. I keep reading about the "sense of drive and propulsion" that idlers and DDs present and this as contrasted to the "nuance and flow" of the top belt drives.
On the other hand, once at the very top of what I assume to be these typologies, NVS, Monaco 2.0, AF Zero, AS2000, Saskia, and perhaps the new Genesis DD, I imagine that something other than drive type, like materials, isolation, execution/implementation, would have more to do with the overall sound of a turntable.