Yes, the Ortofon red is quite good as a first cartridge. I tried it and was pleasantly surprised. I’ve since moved on to MC carts and am loving the detail they provide.
Hard to go wrong with DD turntables. I had a Technics SL1200mk2 for 20 trouble free years and finally moved up to a 1200G. Technics makes outstanding TTs. Can’t go wrong. They have such a strong grip on the sound. The new technics tonearms run better gimbal bearings than the older mk2 standard...you can feel the difference, which is kind of incredible if you know that handling the old tonearm felt like handling ’air’.
Lot’s of other great designs out there. But it’s really easy setup-wise having a Technics.
Good luck!