Get a used (but with a really good bearing) VPI Mk IV table, get what ever arm and cartridge you want (within reason), and viola:
set up your stereo on a concrete floor, put the table into a closet - the isolation you'll get will propel the tables performance upwards several rungs - maybe over $15k worth of table . Also throw in some small area rugs, and ASC full traps in the corners, 1/2 traps on the back wall. Lose the turntable dust cover also, just use a sheet of plastic, nobody is going to see it in the closet, make sure the arm comes off the table at the end of the vinyl to save your nerves and cartridge.
My rig is that table, a Lou Souther linear arm, and a Shelter 501 Mk 3, and a second "bass" table MF 7.1 with an AR 33PTG/II. Linears don't do bass that well, and linears that are pushed by air? No thanks.
You might want to try for a lower end base table, and borrow/beg other tables to check out. If you can't tell the difference it's a vanity purchase. From the 70's onward the best cartridge you can get on an arm that resonates at the right frequency, with the proper alignment, on a belt drive table that has the motor isolated from the table is most of the way. Then you've got to get a killer step up - most pre-amps can't do the job. Big transformer fan, but top notch SS units like Pass's do very well too.
I'd ignore MM cartridges and stick with low/mid compliance MC's, and look at the linear trackers, no way an arm on a pivot can touch a linear for quiet grooves and low wear. My UHQR's sure appreciate it.
set up your stereo on a concrete floor, put the table into a closet - the isolation you'll get will propel the tables performance upwards several rungs - maybe over $15k worth of table . Also throw in some small area rugs, and ASC full traps in the corners, 1/2 traps on the back wall. Lose the turntable dust cover also, just use a sheet of plastic, nobody is going to see it in the closet, make sure the arm comes off the table at the end of the vinyl to save your nerves and cartridge.
My rig is that table, a Lou Souther linear arm, and a Shelter 501 Mk 3, and a second "bass" table MF 7.1 with an AR 33PTG/II. Linears don't do bass that well, and linears that are pushed by air? No thanks.
You might want to try for a lower end base table, and borrow/beg other tables to check out. If you can't tell the difference it's a vanity purchase. From the 70's onward the best cartridge you can get on an arm that resonates at the right frequency, with the proper alignment, on a belt drive table that has the motor isolated from the table is most of the way. Then you've got to get a killer step up - most pre-amps can't do the job. Big transformer fan, but top notch SS units like Pass's do very well too.
I'd ignore MM cartridges and stick with low/mid compliance MC's, and look at the linear trackers, no way an arm on a pivot can touch a linear for quiet grooves and low wear. My UHQR's sure appreciate it.