Best TT for the buck?

Glad to see you are enjoying it. Sounds like you had the same reaction as me. I expected decent sound, but I was not prepared for how good my tt actually sounded.
PMB

For a first tt, I have been extremely pleased with my Pro-ject Debut III. The gloss black version is $359 at NeedleDoctor at the moment. You can probably get them to discount it and the rest of your order another 10%. Upgrade the stylus (not the cartridge) and get a SpeedBox and you should be pretty happy. I upgraded the cartridge to a mc; if you do this, you will also need to get the acrylic platter. If I had it to do over, I would just upgrade the stylus on the pre-installed cart.

The big plus here is the easy setup, the ability to return it if you don't like it, and a warranty. Setup takes about 5 minutes, and the tt sounds pretty good :)

Otherwise, you might want to check around for a killer deal on a Rega P2.

PMB

I would go with the Pro-ject Debut III. You should be able to get it delivered for around $350 from NeedleDoctor. No worries; just take it out of the box, take out 2 transport screws, put on the belt, put on the counterweight and adjust, attach the anti-skate weight, put on the platter and mat, and finally put on a record and enjoy.

It's really that easy. It takes less than 5 minutes.

PMB

I haven't had an issue, but if you wish to avoid the Pro-Ject deck, you can look to a recommendation from someone with a little different experience.

In any case, my preference on a tight budget is to avoid used. Others may have different opinions, but I prefer to have a warranty and the ability to return if I can't afford to duplicate the purchase. I bought my Debut III because I wasn't sure I would like vinyl. Had I known, I would have waited and bought something a lot better. I'm actually enjoying the tt, and don't really feel like I am missing out until I decide what tt/arm/cart combo I will end up with in the $5K range.

It sounds like you are bent on used gear, which is fine, but I wouldn't want to buy used gear unless it is in perfect working order and is from a reputable seller here on the 'Gon.

Looks like there is a Moth in your price range:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1307576484&/Moth-Alamo

SOTA Moonbeam II is also pretty close to your budget. Happy listening.

PMB

I was wondering if anyone else was getting the Flight of the Concords reference. Love this thread because each time I read it, I hear the little bit about "my rhymes are bottomless...." and the associated irony of the pregnant pause in my head.

Hipho, sounds like you made a good decision. I think you will enjoy it very much. I know that I am in the same boat, and my eyes are really being opened up to the virtues of vinyl. I have no dealer in my area to assist with tt setup, but the guys at Needledoctor were very helpful in making sure that I ended up with a plug and play setup (and with a cartridge that was a good match.

Cheers,

PMB

One other tidbit that might be helpful: I bought a 16"*16"*2.75" cutting board (Mountainwoods brand) and attached 3 small pyramid isolation pads from Radioshack. It looks great, ands works well as an isolation platform for my tt-- all for around $25.

PMB