It's a slippery slope. For my second system, I originally was planning for a $2500 or so front end.
Turned out to be closer to $6K with my Feickert Volare, Audiomods 6, Hana ML set up. Love it!
Technics 1200G plays in a different league than the 1500 and 1200 mk 7. Lots of choices ...