Recommendations for a modestly priced analog system

 Chungjh;

I just did what you are describing:

modestly priced is the keywords with 85% of performance of top of top on line ( I think)

Pro-Ject Classic  $899
Hana SL $700
Musical Surroundings Phenomona II.   $750

I’ve listened to it for a while & adjusting and buying albums at $2.15 & then compared to a buddies system Lyra, ARC ph3, & German table 

pretty good in comparison 
I am still dumbfounded how quiet 1970 albums are 

good luck 

jeff

frozentundra

Wow, those are cheap!

Chungjh. Hello, i bought them from ebay, i think from Poland. Iam using slp 98p 15 years now. I have used almost all the 6sn7 out there. Nos, new,  vt231, meltz, kenrad, rca, metal base....all.
The best results is with 6f8g. Better highs, deep bass, excellent mids. The dfference is huge with all my power amplifiers (cary v12, Radford sta25, pioneer m22...).
Best wishes

Hello,
If you want a great turntable I would say VPI prime scout or Rega P8. Order without the cart and get a higher end Audio technica AT oc9xsl cart. I know you can get a few bucks off the cart from Rega but they also charge more money for the cart. This will leave you around $3000 for a decent Phono preamp. Also please go with moving coil. The ortifon black is a great MM cart but the AT will suit you better and won’t kill the budget. These two tables are pretty phono preamp friendly. Phono preamps are like DACs. The more you spend usually the better they are. Buy once cry once. Just pay for sound and not the bling. Sutherland 20/20 is a great phono preamp for $2200. Little loco is $3800. Sutherland. Little loco is a smoother/ sweeter sound over the 20/20. All of this can be ordered from holmaudio.com if you buy together you get a package deal and can mount the cart for you if you like. 

Pro-Ject and Rega are the worst turntables on the planet just like the rest of the cheap belt drives today.

In the beginning of this thread the OP was thinking about the right direction, but after some useless advises this topic as always goes somewhere else.

I prefer buying used for the best bang for the buck. As I am getting older, I need a no fuss, durable and low maintenance system. Any recommendations?

Right, "no fuss" is a Direct Drive turntable with fully adjustable tonearm (VTA on the fly, removable headshell). Today it’s Technics. I believe you can buy used SL1200G for $3k, and if you want to buy even better look for the SP-10R drive and buy plinth and tonearm separately.