Couple of thoughts:
1. Gear "slap" is common on all geared head lathes. As mentioned, the premium USA built machines (long gone) had precision ground headstock gears so this was hardly an issue.
2. The trade off from gears to belts would be metal removal. If only used for smith work, doubt that is a big issue.
3. Digital phase converters (such as Phase Technologies) will often out preform the rural power companies.
4. Finding a pristine, affordable LeBlond, Colchester, Monarch, etc. is beginning to become a serious endeavor.
5. The Taiwanese machines are typically superior to any produced in China. Priced accordingly too.
