Hello. I think I went through a similar situation this year. I started pondering on the idea of an analog setup when covid hits. I got rega rp6 with aria phono and a mm cartridge. It was surprisingly pleasant. I ended up with 300 to 400 records later and decided it was time for an upgrade. I started the second journey and looked at vpi and rega tables. But eventually I found Brinkman Bardo with Benz LP S cartridge mc. And I researched for a phono stage. Best one that is reasonably priced was the allnic h1200. It had raving reviews that fit my needs. The result was nothing but surprises. I'm still breaking in and it sounds better every day. If you need one, I highly recommend reaching out to https://forum.audiogon.com/users/kevalinaudio
I also posted about John on this thread. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/great-experience-with-allnic-and-kevalin-audio
So the phono sets u back 3k. So I guess you have another 4k to play with. I ended up with direct drive. You have to decide what kind of table features you need. Like do you want to swap cartridges easily? Are you a person who enjoys tweaking? Too many choices out there. But I wanted one table that can be my last, I ended up spending 8k on mine. But you probably wouldn't hear much difference between a 4k and an 8k. I think roi is less when you get to that level. I probably be fine with a high end technics in the 3 to 4k or a vpi in that range or even rega table or even a rebuild of a thorens. If you are interested in any of those, you may contact me since I already went thru the journey recently I still have some of my contacts. They have given me superb service and I wouldn't mind passing their info along to you.
I also posted about John on this thread. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/great-experience-with-allnic-and-kevalin-audio
So the phono sets u back 3k. So I guess you have another 4k to play with. I ended up with direct drive. You have to decide what kind of table features you need. Like do you want to swap cartridges easily? Are you a person who enjoys tweaking? Too many choices out there. But I wanted one table that can be my last, I ended up spending 8k on mine. But you probably wouldn't hear much difference between a 4k and an 8k. I think roi is less when you get to that level. I probably be fine with a high end technics in the 3 to 4k or a vpi in that range or even rega table or even a rebuild of a thorens. If you are interested in any of those, you may contact me since I already went thru the journey recently I still have some of my contacts. They have given me superb service and I wouldn't mind passing their info along to you.