Best Turntable at $1,500? Please Advise.

Outlier, welcome to analog land. You won't be sorry. Here's what I would do: Sell the Bryston pre. buy a used tubed pre. with good phono stage Quicksilver($700-850?and a little tweaky),Audible Illusions Mod.3($800-900? less tweaky easy with tubes, AR SP9II, Melos 222C(that's what I use and could probably be had for about $850,much to my chagrin, and sonically in a different league from the others IMO).You'll have the magic of tubes and won't need to spend $ on another interconnect. In my opinion, the phono stages of any of these is far better than any of the $200-750 seperate stages; unless you can get a great deal on a EAR. Used Rega Planar 3 very reliable and good sounding($375?). I have seen great deals for used VPI HW19's with Sumiko,Rega,ETII!!!!!!!(tweaky) in the 1000.00 range. I would not, being new to vinyl, buy a used cartridge. You would have to spend a lot more to better the performance of the Grado Platinum($300)And if you want to spend more buy a used record cleaner. Happy listening.

Guys, the question was for analog system including phono stage for 1500.00. I still don't see how you can do better than a VPI HW19(any vintage)with a Rega, Alphason, or if you have a tweaking predilection a ET2 for around $700-800. This was and still is one of the all time great, reasonably priced combos. And as a bonus this arm in spite of all it's tweakiness, can be a lot of fun to play with not to mention that it is in a different sonic league from a lot of the moderately priced arms. As an alternative, the more that I think about it, how about a Linn/Ittok. Great sounding and fun fun fun to listen to. The one that started it all ($750). As far as cartridges go, I hold to my position of no used cartridge, unless it's from a VERY reputable dealer. As far as MM vs MC, depends on the rest of your system. I installed a Grado Platinum in a Rega 300 for a friend; it replaced a Blue point Special. No contest. Much more natural timbre, soundstaging, bass, you name it. You really should not try to use anything with less than 1mv output with anything other than a first rate tubed phono stage. The Melos can do it, and while it can handle a Monster Genesis .2mv, it really comes alive with my Vandenhull MC1 .4mv. A Grado (1.5, 4.0) really lets it take charge dynamically, although with a little less detail and overall refinement. Look for a good deal in a Benz Glider. Remember, generally speaking something like the Grado will give you a more opulent sound, more fleshed out images. A MC will give you a more tightly defined sound, more seperation of images and probably more brightness as well which may or may not be good with the rest of your system. And lastly, pay LOTS of attention to what your new table will be sitting on. If at all possible, MOUNT IT ON THE WALL. Happy listening.