How much to spend on what component


Guys,

I'm currently using a Rega P2/RB250 with Mitchell balance weights/Ortofon 520 mk2. I've had this for about 18 years now and feel the time is right to upgrade. I don't want to fiddle about upgrading one part at a time or buy from some on line retailer. I listen to a lot of different music, CSN&Y, Crusaders, Led Zep, Jesse Colin Young etc so I want my set up to be very transparent and detailed but I'm not too bothered about a lot of base.

I Live in Spain but will be buying from a retailer in Berlin, Germany. After talking at length with him I have some ideas of what I might like but I have hit the age old problem. The more research I do the more confused I become.

My initial idea is a Nottingham Analogue Studios Interspace Junior with a Nottingham arm and Micro Benz Gold cartridge.

However he has some nice tone arms and I'm particularly taken by the look of the Morch UP-4.
Having said that my budget is $2,800, (or 2,500€, £1850)I'm completely open to advice so, a couple of questions..........

Generally speaking, is there some sort of rule that says you should spend a given proportion of the budget on each component ie: 50% Turntable 30% arm 20% cartridge? (I've just made these up to illustrate my point)

What do people think of the Nottingham choice?

I really like the Morch so is it a decent arm and is it worth fitting into a set up?

Being in Europe, my dealer Turntable choices are limited to Rega, Clearaudio, Nottingham, Project and Roksan.

Thanks, any advice would be appreciated
rob-in-spain
The best way to go about this would be to bring your current TT setup into your dealer. Your P2 is small and easy to move around. No reason to take a chance.
Since you have the Rega for 18 years and enjoyed it,why not go for another Rega? I think the rule you came up with is just about right!
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I'd say spend as much on the turntable and tonearm as you possibly can (assuming that price = value, which is not always the case!) and worry slightly less about the cart...

As an aside, years ago Linn proposed total system "spend" in the form of a symbolic pyramid with the turntable appearing as the base/foundation of the pyramid. The width of each level represented the scale of the "spend" as thus -

......L/S
...Amplifier
..Phono stage
Turntable/arm/cart

This could be further broken down into -

....Cart
.Tone-arm
Turn---table

The T/T being the most "fundamental" element...

Later someone came up with the "Barnett Formula" (context of "Barnett" being slang for a seriously large head of hair). This was an inverted pyramid with the loudspeakers emphasized at the top.

IMO both are correct to a large extent because you should also buy the best loudspeakers & amplification you can afford in order to do the source justice ;^)

Hell, just sell the Ferrari and buy a mega-system! ;^) :D