$2000 turntable system


Been putting it off long enough, but decided it’s time to bite the bullet and take the vinyl plunge. (mixed metaphor alert)
Don’t want to take my usual multiple expensive false steps. The learning curve here looks pretty steep, so I figured to ask you all for some advice. Thinking to spend $2K - 2.5K. Likely to pair it with my PrimaLuna Dialogue HP Integrated and Revel F206s. Might possibly set it up with my Classe SSP-800/ Classe CA5200/ Martin Logan Montis.
What I came up with after a couple of hours of research were:

Rega PL3 turntable $945
Rega TT PSU power supply $395
Rega Exact 2 MM cartridge $595
Parasound Zphono phono stage $199

Total: $2134

Was considering Vincent PHO 8 phono stage $299 and Dynavector 10x5 MC cartridge $650 as alternatives.

Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Leo


leotis

Showing 2 responses by sjtm

90%+ of  the albums I have purchased are either original analog recordings or reissues remastered from original analog tapes.  About a third of these are AAA (all analog) which is what has contributed to the relatively high cost for me.  If It is clear that the original mastering was digital AND the cd mastering is no better or worse than the mastering for vinyl, I opt for the cd .  Still do not have setup for streaming, but expect to incorporate hi-rez playback in the near future.  Still prefer vinyl ( I grew up with it in the 60's and 70's) .
FWIW (from a newbie who jumped into vinyl last year) I would evaluate the budget decision in light of the cost of putting together a vinyl collection.  While I have read many threads about buying minty used vinyl for $2-$3 each, my experience has been different and much more expensive - averaging closer to $14-$15 per album given the number of new reissues (along with used) I have purchased.  If you already have a great album collection, no need to consider this issue.  But I have spent well over $7 grand in the last year to put my 500+ album collection together.  

I ended up with a very gently used Music Hall MMF 9.1, a Dynavector 10x5 cartridge and VPI interconnect  for a total of $900.  My Marantz PM-11s3 has a very nice phono stage so saved some money there.

Good luck and have fun.