That is a pretty good table. I owned a VPI Aries for twenty years. The table sounded very much better each phono stage upgrade through a Audio Research PH8 ($7K new at the time). The PS is really critical… my rule of thumb is spend as much on the PS as you do on the TT …I would save your money until you have $2,500 and see if you can get a used high end Phonostage… Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Or VAC… Presto (although I have heard of reliability issues with these).
MM phono preamp upgrade for $1000?
I have a VPI Prime 3D with a Nagaoka mp 300 MM cartridge. I’m currently using a Lounge Audio LCR mk III preamp that doesn’t sound bad but I’m hoping to upgrade. My LCR is an early version so Lounge Audio tells me they can’t do the silver/gold upgrades on it. I have a budget of about $1000. What MM only preamps would you recommend I look into at that price point new or used.