For a $1K budget you should definitely consider a used table and arm. They're plentiful enough on both A'gon and ebay, though in general I'd trust an A'gon seller more. Used cartridges are riskier business, so unless the table comes with one I'd go with new.
Put the large majority of your $1K into the table/arm, at least 80%. At any level up to at least $4-5K it is a mistake to overspend on cartridges. A too-revealing cartridge typically displays any shortcomings in the rig. OTOH, an inexpensive cartridge on a good rig will have the support and stable environment it needs to perform its best. I'm not spouting theory BTW. This is based on real experiments with mismatched equipment. Good table/cheap cartridge is almost always better than the other way around.
In addition, since your phono stage is rather suspect and you don't have the budget to improve it, you won't hear most of what an expensive cartridge can do anyway. I'd upgrade the phono stage before I'd consider spending serious money on a cartridge.
P.S. Set aside some money for record cleaning and setup tools.
Put the large majority of your $1K into the table/arm, at least 80%. At any level up to at least $4-5K it is a mistake to overspend on cartridges. A too-revealing cartridge typically displays any shortcomings in the rig. OTOH, an inexpensive cartridge on a good rig will have the support and stable environment it needs to perform its best. I'm not spouting theory BTW. This is based on real experiments with mismatched equipment. Good table/cheap cartridge is almost always better than the other way around.
In addition, since your phono stage is rather suspect and you don't have the budget to improve it, you won't hear most of what an expensive cartridge can do anyway. I'd upgrade the phono stage before I'd consider spending serious money on a cartridge.
P.S. Set aside some money for record cleaning and setup tools.