Best upgrade from a Thorens for $500-$700???


Hi folks,

I've decided I love vinyl.

I own an older belt-drive Thorens TD165 with a Sure MK95 cartridge into the phono stage of a Marantz 2285. If I had $500-$700 to spend on a total upgrade of my turntable components, what would you recommend?

Would anything in that price range constitute a significant upgrade from my current setup?

Thanks so much
sherman90
An older type v 15 series would be ideal it still had some life...but thats probably gonna be a couple hundred bucks....outside of hyper elliptical 97s...that's where the shure magic starts
Thanks, mate. I think you may be right; at this stage I'm compelled to try something like a Grado Gold cartridge to see how that fares. If it doesn't sound good golden, perhaps I'll then think about investing in a new table.
Keep the table and receiver...the weakest link is the shure...upgrade that to a new shure 97 or higher...then add an outboard phono stage if compelled but I'm fairly certain the marantz will be competitive...Fwiw...I did the same thing you are contemplating...but in reverse order...I went back to vintage gear...if u know what to look for...great bargains