Does a record player make that much of a difference??

@joshindc 

With a turntable I am more of a function over form kind of guy.  By that I mean once you break a turntable down into its basic functions and your table has those bases covered, the rest is diminishing returns on the dollar. And yes, performing these basic functions do matter to the sound quality-

1) Speed stability (freedom from note wavering) and speed accuracy.  I have owned and heard expensive turntables that had speed stability issues where you could clearly hear a wavering in the pitch of sustained notes and sound slow, stogy and lack energy compared to others.  A turntable with great speed stability and accuracy sounds more energetic and life like.  

2) Immunity from vibration.  There are expensive turntables available that are not very good at dealing with air born or foot traffic vibrations.  These cause you to purchase work arounds like wall mount shelves or vibration reducing platforms in order to sound their best.  Many turntables do not need these work arounds and come with very good vibration damping feet, stable, structurally sound plinths and platters.  

3) Tonearm adjustability for cartridge optimization.  A great turntable should have a tonearm that can easily be adjusted for use with the better available phono cartridges.  Many cartridges have stylus shapes that need precise VTA (vertical tracking angle) to sound their best and the tonearm should be easily adjustable for VTA as well as anti-skating and VTF (vertical tracking force).  If you cannot get the VTA so that the top of the cartridge is level with the record surface the sound could be compromised and cause uneven / early stylus wear.  

4)Tonearm mass / match with cartridge compliance and resonance.  The turntable should have a tonearm with the appropriate mass to match with the cartridge you like and are using.  In general a lower - mid mass tonearm works with higher compliance cartridges as a starting point.  You would usually pick a cartridge to match your tonearm but many people have their favorite sounding cartridges and need a turntable with a tonearm to match.  A poor tonearm to cartridge match will cause it to be resonant at higher or lower frequencies that will have an impact on the sound.  Improper matches can cause rumble effects, coloration or blurring of the sound and be more susceptible to warped records.  

5) Turntable mat.  A poor turntable mat will be a source of electrical static and may not provide the best damping of tonearm cartridge energy.  A good turntable mat (even stock) will provide just the right amount of energy damping to avoid sound coloration but not too much as to reduce sound dynamics and energy. 

So yes, turntables do affect sound quality.   

Stability as in level, speed, reduced wow/flutter are all very important imo. So the table, tonearm and cartridge as a system matters a lot. But possibly the cartridge less so than the table and arm.

Cartridge is the most important.  Second is the phono pre. As long as the TT is not complete garbage it’s the least important. I don’t understand how one could argue otherwise. Unless one sells expensive TTs.

I can't help but wonder how beneficial a voltage VARIAC would be

Could be wrong, but my point is, I think the reason record-loving audiophiles put so much more attention and money on record players vs carts and phonostages is because there is more to look at.

@joshindc 

This seems a bit insulting. Your opening question is which has better “sonics”, then later assume we’re purchasing for “visual bling” instead of sonics.

The turntable is a vibration detection device.  As audio chains become more transparent like lowering the noise floor through better electronics, sonic differences in turntables become very noticeable including tonearm performance with specific, platter materials, platter speed, plinth material, motor noise, etc.  

Your Marantz TT16 is a fine turntable at it’s price point, but I’d expect noticeable positive sonic differences if you upgraded to a $3-5k turntable - at least better tonearms and better platter material like Delrin on MoFi turntables