Turntable Upgrade

This is an excellent line up, and very similar to the lineup I have in mind for a potential upgrade. I'm curious why something further up the Clearaudio line isn't on the list. A Signature or Performance DC Air with Tracer arm would be in budget. 

Either way, at this price point you are entering the area where a road trip is solid insurance that you'll be happy with the investment. If you need to buy blindly, I would likely go 1200G. Easy to setup, potentially best resale. 

But also I'd imagine no true wrong answers here. 

" no true wrong answers here. "

Agreed.

If anything, the OP might learn of a particular choices' strength/weakness and make the choice on what brand/model will fit the bill.

If VPI is chosen, I'd look at used-there's always good deals in the listings.

Longtime Classic user. VPI ISN'T without its share of shortcomings(in reference to "next level table") but when setup properly it will give a decent slice of SOTA for not too much cash outlay.

VPI Classic 3 TurnTable & 10.5" JMW Memori... For Sale | Audiogon

VPI Industries Classic 2 For Sale | Audiogon

If you were looking for an endgame with a wider wallet, this negotiated for a lower price is what I would go for

VPI Industries HW-40 Limited Edition For Sale | Audiogon

Put a $3-5K cart on an be done with turntable insanity!

The "problem" with something like this, you could get used to performance, and be curious about the "next level"(there ALWAYS is) and now you're too far gone...

I think VTA on-the-fly is overrated. I had that on my Clearaudio Ovation and found I never used it if I wanted to listen to music. When I upgraded to a Clearaudio Innovation I didn't bother getting the arm board that supports fitting the Clearaudio VTALifter2 (i.e. on-the-fly adjustment) I still have.

The thing is lathes that cut lacquers for LPs aren't even consistent enough to make dynamic VTA useful, unless you plan to set it by ear for every record before playing the record (yeah, that's as painful as it sounds).

The Clearaudio Concept supports adjusting VTA statically when changing cartridges. It's a matter of loosening the bolt that locks the tonearm in the armboard.