Turntable advice

Lots of good feedback and thoughts here. As oldaudiophile, mentioned, I am indeed just getting into it and have a whole lot to learn. I’ve definitely thought about what vonhelmhotltz said with foregoing this endeavor and just making my digital as good as it can be. What attracts me to vinyl is the process, the sound which I’ve really come to appreciate and to some extent I think I will really enjoy looking for and finding albums. 
 

as far as introducing other brands, I definitely will look into that, but also have a dealer that I trust and who has treated me right, including service that has gone above and beyond anything I’ve experienced elsewhere. That's worth a lot and potentially limits my choices to stay with someone I trust. Brinkmann is also intriguing but above my price point currently. 
 

One completely different option that we talked about was starting with a lesser, but good table, specifically the Dr. Feickert Volare (shoutout to edgyhassle) and get a few years under my belt, especially since I don’t have a separate pre now. Then I could learn a lot more and buy an endgame table once I’ve figured that out and know that I’m committed to vinyl. That would also give me a longer upgrade path, but potentially more expensive than just buying one of the two tables I mentioned. 
 

I’ve read a bit about the VPI’s and it seems they are quite polarizing. I do love the look and sound when I’ve heard them (at multiple dealers and at shows, including southwest audiofest recently). I also really like the brinkmann taurus and the pure fidelity harmony sounded great as well. In almost all of those cases, the phono stages were significantly better than what I have now. 
 

Coming back to two that I’m looking at here, the avenger plus (seems similar to what you pointed me to exigem2, with the benefit of the rim drive system) has some nice features including a rim drive system, a good Tonearm (potentially debatable) and seems like it could have a lot of potential for future upgrades. The Harmony seems like it is great as well and potentially easier to use and learn on. I’m not as sure about the long term upgrade path, but I’m sure there is also potential there. The third option then could be something like the volare and so what I mentioned above and buy a better table in a few years. 

Thanks for all the feedback so far! And excuse the typos, I’m in the passenger seat while my son is practicing his driving for the third time, yikes!
 

Hey crustycoot, really good questions and thoughts. I don’t have a collection yet, but did buy a couple albums at the southwest audiofest. In my listening room, I would say I lean towards jazz and blues at least 60-70% of the time. The rest is some rock, which I’m coming to appreciate more and r&b/hip hop sporadically thrown in, lol. 
 

appreciate the input on my built-in phono too, definitely will let my ears lead me!

One other option could be to do the Volare and get a nicer cartridge than the one that I’m considering (or not if it isn’t needed). 

I had a VPI HW19 MkIII for 20 years and for the past 8 a Classic SE with 10” 3D uni-pivot arm, Lyra Delos and SDS so I like VPI. I was never disappointed with its performance but decided to move away from the uni-pivot. If I was to stay with VPI, I would have gone to their gimbal arm but then you still have the hokey anti-skate setup. I didn’t use it, just went with the wire loop and in all those years I cannot recall a single issue with mis-tracking. The turntable was totally quiet, and had good isolation.

Several month’s ago I sold it and bought a Pure Fidelity Harmony with OL Illustrious SE arm and Stratos LOMC. Aesthetically, the VPI is very cool but the PF is cooler IMO as there are no controls on the plinth, and no visible motor, belt or pulley…just the platter and arm. The controls are on the Conductor power supply. Sonically, the PF combination is a few steps up in every category but in simple terms the music just sounds more real, the soundstage adds to that in addition to more low level detail. It too has good isolation with its GHIA feet, is very quiet in operation and the arm is a joy  compared to the uni.

Since everything (TT, arm, cart) is different now, it’s a somewhat apples to oranges comparison but what I landed on was an obvious upgrade. Considering the cost factor, I would’ve been very disappointed if it wasn’t.

I have to agree with @rdk777 about his suggestion to better match the turntable to your system. Based on that, the Avenger or Harmony almost seem entry level. It also seems crazy to say that. I’d add Bergmann, SME, Technics SL-1000RE-S, Acoustic Signature and Brinkmann to his list.

I have a VPI Superscoutmaster .....upgraded to the ceramic platter, upgraded to the 2nd pivot on the 10 inch plastic (?) unipivot, center weight, peri weight, etc.. ....have it for about 16 years or so....never a problem, quiet, stable, very happy,