To me answers to these kind of questions fit best on an S-shaped hysteresis curve with a few inflection points. #1 at about $600, the Project Debut Carbon Evolution has set a pretty high bar for an entry level turntable. #2 Midway up the curve at about $2000, there are a myriad of excellent tables from Rega, Project, EAT, and others, with room in the budget for a $500-Class cartridge Hana E, Grado, Ortofon. The next point, which is the #3 upper 'knee' in our curve is in the $5,000-ish range. Here you can start discussing VPI, Linn, the higher-end Regas and Clearaudio, as well as moving into the kilo-buck cartridges. Beyond that, the improvements tend to be more incremental than monumental and the investment as much in artistry as technology.
The bumper sticker version is something like this: the first 80% will cost 1X. the next 10% costs the 3X, and the next 9% 10X. The final 1%, 100X. Your mileage may vary.
The bumper sticker version is something like this: the first 80% will cost 1X. the next 10% costs the 3X, and the next 9% 10X. The final 1%, 100X. Your mileage may vary.