New turntable recommendations I have a MM-7 now

How about a VPI Scout.

I second the Scout. Mine replace a MMF-5se and the sound quality improvement is night and day .

Avid Diva II

Yep, the VPI Scout or Scoutmaster was at the top of my list, my local dealer also recommed the Avid. Thought about a Rega P-3 but don't think they look as cool as the VPI or Avid... I know it's how they sound, not how they look but looks are important to me also.
I did check now and the tone arm leads are just fine.. but I can't figure out why I'm getting such a hum for the table now. Switched eveything back to the way it was and the hum will not go away. Going to hook it up to my second system and see what happens.
Thanks again fo ryour input.
Mark

Man, if I was in the market for a <$3K turntable, i wouldn't part with the money without trying the new Well Tempered Amadeus at $2895, even if I had to fly or make a road trip to a dealer. You've got the marriage of Bill Firebaugh's unconventional genius combined with cost-effective Chinese manufacturing precision (they're built by Opera). Word is that this new design is notably unfussy.

A Transrotor turbillion used from the estate of an audiophile with a clueless family. I just love the look.

If you want convenience, consider a Thorens. German craftmanship, and most models have an automatic lift and turn off when the arm comes to the end of a record. And they look good in a retro sort of way.

Mark go linear tracking and save your cash. Bought a sony ps lx 5oo for 4o bones that wiped the floor with my mdf project that skipped every time i came within 5 miles of it.

MHansen, you wrote, "I swaped interconnects last night and I think one of the tone arm leads broke again." Do you mean to say that the act of swapping the ICs caused a short of one of the internal wires, between the cartridge pins and the output jacks of the tt? Or what? What is the symptom you are experiencing that causes you to draw this conclusion? If it's hum, then you have some other problem. Could be due to interaction of your phono cartridge with the tt motor, if you have certain MM or a moving iron types. Could more likely be due to a need to ground your tt to your preamp, etc.