Advice and recommendations needed for a turntable rig...

Just my two cents. I have a MoFi ultra deck. Super easy set up out of the box, 5 minutes or less. I also bought the MoFi phono pre amp. Very happy with this set up as my re-entry back into LPs. The pre-mounted Master Tracker mm cart is really very good. The ultra deck is heavy, the platter is heavy and dense. Over the past couple of years I upgraded my pho preamp to a Paradound JC3 Jr. and a Hana ML mc cart. After visiting the Fla. audio expo, I’m convinced that I’d have to get into the $6 to $8k territory to gain significant improvement.

I added turntable to my system 2 years ago and I am loving it. I find myself playing it more often than streaming or playing CD… The table is Transrotor zet 3.1, tonearm is Sorane SA 1.2, Cartridge is Dynavector XV-1S and phono preamp is Burmester 100. Being my first experience in analog, all I can say is absolutely amazing sound… Vinyl is super nice… 

For $1,650, you can get a Music Hall "Stealth" with an Ortofon 2M "Blue" cartridge. The Stealth is no lightweight at 24 lbs. It's direct drive, has a great cartridge and you can change tracking angle while a record is playing. It's what I currently use.

I also agree with @dorkwad that the Fluance line is a great way to enter the world of vinyl without blowing a ton of money. I've had experience with the RT-83 ($350) and RT-85 ($500) and find them to be very worthy entry-level units. Both are available with an onboard phono stage for $100, but I have no experience with it. 

I’ve had the VPI HW MK IV with SAM since 1985. 

It’s built like a brick schiethaus, as the saying goes. Weighs a ton: the platter alone is 16 lbs. 

Feichert Volare?  A little above budget, but otherwise fits criteria of high mass design I think.  I have no experience of it personally, but very highly regarded by people I tend to find credible.