New TT -- $1k - $1500

johnnyb53:  You were one of the primary influences in me getting a technics when I posted about what I was looking for back 3 years ago.  I was just getting into vinyl and wanted to test the waters.

The technics is one of the many reasons I stuck with the hobby.  It has performed well.  Quite well.  But, it is a fiddly beast.  If I stick with the technics (I bought used), I'd feel most comfortable sending it off to KAB for work (mostly so he can give it a once over before I put a bunch of $ into it).  I am a DIYer at heart and I would love to mess around with it, but I think it might get in the way of me enjoying the music.  Plus, I can't find anyone in the SE Michigan area to work on it - most audio shops ... well ... have other suggestions for me.  Which is the main reason I'm looking for something new.

RP3 and RP6 are both good candidates...  I wish the RP6 was in the price range - that's a little out of the box for me at the moment.  RP3 might not be enough.  
    

Lower michigan

effisher:  thanks for the hup - i contacted george and we're exchanging emails.  I haven't looked at SOTA tables before - mainly rega and VPI.  
Rega: Many dealers carry them
VPI: Nice clean looks

SOTA looks very good too!  Very few complaints online (whereas Rega and VPI have their share!). 

Regarding 1200 upgrades: The KAB level of upgrades is where i'm at financially.  Seems to be the best bang for the buck *and* provides the most benefit.  Though, the tonepublications article is down on these mods, when comparing them to a $2k tonearm...  not sure that's a fair comparison.  

I actually found someone local who can service / rewire the tonearm on the 1200.  This was my biggest hurdle.  Plus, they can go through it and fix up anything that needs attention.  The biggest thing that I want to make sure is the tonearm bearing.  All the tests i've done seem to pass, but i'm not sure if i'm doing them right.  

So, with tonearm rewire, at150mlx cart +SumitkoHS12 (i have this on hand), tonearm fluid dampening i'm in for about $500 (labor included).  

Hey everyone -- I thought I would report back with my decision.  I decided to spend about $130 on a tone arm rewire, RCA jacks and the wax bearing mod from Kevin at KAB.  

This weekend I embarked on the tonearm rewire (which is quite intimidating based on the reading i've done!).  The biggest hurdle was the wire routing through the tone arm.  After much frustration, the magic finally came when I removed  the tonearm all together.  After this, it was quite easy.  Only thing I messed up was the anti-skate spring was on the wrong side (I must have set it at 3 during the install...  anyway, I had to open the patient again and fix).    Soldering was a little fiddly, but wasn't bad at all.

I'm glad i kept the table.  The tonearm rewire + cardas RCA is a huge improvement.  It's like i have a new deck.  I haven't even done the wax plate mod or the soon-to-be-ordered dampening mod!