3k budget for Turntable and Phono Noob- do I need external power supplies?

Don't rush in, get started and ascertain if you will stick with Vinyl before spending real money.

I advise picking a Quartz Locked Direct Drive TT model with a tonearm with removable headshell type. I had one of these for years, a great start IMO

AT120 has optional phono EQ, has AT95 Cartridge Body

You simply upgrade to a different Stylus, no re-alignment needed

Change Stylus to Shibata Shape

Once you find you will stick with it, and begin a collection, learning along the way, you will have a much better ability to sort choices.

you can easily try a better cartridge in it's own headshell, eventually have a small collection, pre-mounted/aligned ready to play.

I did a big upgrade beginning in 2019, during Covid stay home years, a mixture of used, NOS, new, and took a risk on a few used ones, ass well as had a few re-built.

My favorite cartridge is a used one I just bought, price was low enough to risk, got lucky.

Better to start with an advanced stylus shape properly aligned, far more difference in sound than a power supply change.

You don't have to buy Soundsmith, but they have good information

https://www.sound-smith.com/articles/stylus-shape-information

Fluance Belt Drive has a Removable Headshell

It comes bundled with Ortofon Blue 2M, which I do not recommend because it is an elliptical shape on aluminum, good but not exceptional. I’d much rather you got an advanced shape, i.e. MicroLine or Shibata shape, on a stiffer cantilever i.e. boron

The advanced shapes cost more, however they have much larger contact surfaces in the groove, less wear/last longer, and they produce less wear to your LPs simultaneously. If it cost twice as much, last nearly twice as long, tracks lighter, less wear on your lps, that is win/win/win.

the cartridge body’s technology combined with the stylus cantilever suspension and lightness/stiffness of material, advanced stylus shape has to be excellent to produce both wide channel separation and tight channel balance: they combine to far better imaging abilities, always check those two specs, then research reviews about it’s ’sound’.

It does NOT have an optional Phono stage, thus you need to decide/buy a separate one, whereas the AT120 gets you started, you learn and get phono stage when you know more.

I tried IFI, sent it back, I tried Cambridge Duo, sent it back, I liked a $14. unit from Pyle more, used it, kept trying others that were returnable, because it is ’preferred’, not ’better’ when it comes to phono eq.

Here’s the $14. Pyle Phono

Ridiculous, Sounds like I do, but I don’t love cheap sound, after rejecting several in a row, I find reading reviews and price does not mean much, use your ears.

I have used it while searching, and loaned it to several friends until they settle on something they try, all shocked at how good it sounds, until they FINALLY find something they like. It’s always good to have a spare setup when something goes wrong.

I had a highly respected McIntosh CC28 SS Preamp, hated the sound of it’s MM Phono. I preferred the AT120’s dinky built in optional phono eq. I now love my McIntosh MX110z Tube Tuner/Preamp MM Phono EQ sound, and use a SUT for my MC so I can continue to use the MX110z for the RIAA EQ and Gain.

I used the Pyle temporarily up here, rejected several, finally found I really like the MM built into the little Luxman Tube Integrated in my office. It has a single setting for MC, never tried an MC cartridge up here, now I might.

I have my NOS AT440ml MicroLine on Aluminum here tracking at 1.25g. My new to me used AT160ml is MicroLine shape on Beryllium Cantilever, also tracks at only 1.25g, I just realized, I am sitting dead center, amazing imaging out of these restored AR-2ax speakers, I’m gonna listen to/compare other cartridges up here. The Mitsubishi LT5V Vertical TT is Linear Tracking, very easy to adjust tracking weight, no anti-skate involved here.

just to show OP, I have ’gotten into it’, assembled this TT with 3 Tonarms, had 2500LPs, inherited 4,000 more LPs, sold over 2,000, need to sell more.

Near instant comparisons of my friends and my cartridges: I can play with all 3 arms simultaneously in the groove, and choose which arm on the SUT’s 3 inputs. Henry posted a video of his similar JVC TT showing no drag effect as he lowered 1,2,3 Quartz Locked Direct Drive keeps speed perfect