Best upgrade from a Thorens for $500-$700???

Keep the table and receiver...the weakest link is the shure...upgrade that to a new shure 97 or higher...then add an outboard phono stage if compelled but I'm fairly certain the marantz will be competitive...Fwiw...I did the same thing you are contemplating...but in reverse order...I went back to vintage gear...if u know what to look for...great bargains

Thanks, mate. I think you may be right; at this stage I'm compelled to try something like a Grado Gold cartridge to see how that fares. If it doesn't sound good golden, perhaps I'll then think about investing in a new table.

An older type v 15 series would be ideal it still had some life...but thats probably gonna be a couple hundred bucks....outside of hyper elliptical 97s...that's where the shure magic starts