Help with TT recommendations.

In that price range, I'd have to recommend just a little more saving, and spend around $2k. That would give you the ability to get a Teres 135, and a Rega RB250 and a Denon DL103R.

These are the reasons.
If you get the Teres 135, it will outperform any of the TTs that you listed, right off the bat. Then there is an upgrade path, that can take you right to the top of the line, in reasonable priced increments.

The RB250 is also common on some of the other TTs you are considering. It is real good right out of the box, and also has an upgrade path, using OL mods, to bring it into the high-end arm category.

The Denon DL103R is about the best low-output MC cart, in the lower price ranges. It is really a very good cartridge no matter what the price. Your phono stage should handle it ok. It will need about 70db of gain.

This is basically how I started out earlier this year. I have had many TTs over the years, but this is my latest iteration. I have moved up to the higher models in all the categories, but what I recommended here is a "giant-killer" kind of rig. And it leaves you a pathway to easy upgrades, without having to sell stuff off. When you finally upgrade to the top model Teres 255, you will have very close to as good as analog can be. At a very low price.

I think that this is the most sensible, and cost-effective way to get into high-end analog. It may not be the cheapest way at first, but it will be the cheapest and best way in the long run. And the sound will be as good as you are ever going to get, without spending $30k.(I am talking about after you go through the upgrade path, not at the starter system. The starter system should be competitive with rigs around $6k.)

Yes, In the budget area, if you can spend a little more, it is better to get the weighted wood base of the 150. Noticeably extends the bass response, and improves detail and info retrieval. Definitely worth the money, if you can afford to do it.

I started with the 135, and moved up to the 245 within 6 months. Got the battery power supply, and Sig DC motor. Now I am ordering the shot-loaded platter, and will have the top of the line 255 DC Signature model.

Every upgrade was very positive improvement. I can tell you what to expect to happen to the sound with each added upgrade. The weighted wood base is the biggest improvement. According to Teres, it makes more improvement than the weighted platter. I will say that the wood base was a MAJOR upgrade in sound. The batter power supply was about 5% and the Signature motor was about 5%, in terms of sonic improvement. All I have left to do is the platter, and I have already heard one, so I know what it will do. It makes a smoother presentation, and improves detail even further. Even with the 245, I am pushing the limits of higher end analog. The 255 is very near the top of what you can get, without a huge expenditure that very few can afford. It nips at the heels of Walker and Rockport territory. For the price, that is an incredible level of performance, and makes it about the best value that is possible for regular folks, like myself.

Totally agree with Sean. And I would go a little further to mention that the BPS is not the greatest value in cartridges out there. You could do alot better than that for less money than the BPS costs.

Okay, here's where the rubber hits the road. The arm cannot be chosen properly, without due consideration as to what types of cartridges you plan to use. They work together as a package.

In my humble opinion, the absolute best cartridge that can be gotten for under $500 is the Denon DL103R. Happily, it is only $230. However, it has the distinction of being the stiffest compliance cartridge in the world, and is not happy at all in a unipivot arm. Yes, I know, some people use it in a unipivot, but I assure you it is not working at its best there. It requires a good quality medium to higher mass gimbal-bearing type tonearm. It tracks at about 2.75 grams, and has a compliance of 5 cu, which is very low(stiff). Also, other very good cartridges that have the type of sound I prefer, also are under 10cu, and require a similar arm type. So this is why I chose a quality gimbal-bearing arm. If you want to use some higher compliance cartridges, you can use a unipivot with good result. The best higher compliance cartridge under $500, I think, is the Dynavector 10x4. Around $350. Or for a moving magnet type, a Goldring 1042. Those would both work well in a unipivot arm or gimbal-bearing type arm.

Personally I see no purpose in limiting my cartridge selection by choosing an arm that does not lend itself to certain types of very good sounding cartridges. Others disagree with me on this, but I hold firm to my opinion, because it stems from some pretty good level of experience on this subject.

There are some very good sounding gimbal-bearing arms out there that don't take a back seat to any unipivot, and are not restricted in cartridge matching, to the point that unipivots are.

I think that the Graham Robin is a good arm, but it is not a Graham 2.2. And for the same money as the Robin, you can get an arm that will very closely compete with a 2.2. That arm is the OL Silver. It will handily outperform the Robin, at the same $800 price point, and it will handle a DL103R quite well, so you can use that very good sounding cartridge that doesn't cost alot.

The combo of OL Silver and Denon DL103R will cost just a hair over $1k all together. To use a Robin or JMW or other quality unipivot, you would have to use a much more expensive cartridge to get similar cartridge performance. The closest sounding cartridge to the DL103R, that could be used in a unipivot, would be a Benz Glider at $700. And even though the package would be well matched, it really would't compete sonically with the OL Silver/DL103R package because the OL Silver is too much better than these low to mid priced unipivots.

If you can find an arm/cart combination for $1k that will beat the OL Silver/DL103R combination, then you need to be the one answering these questions, not me. Because if there is one, I sure as hell don't know about it.

Then when you get ready to move up in cartridges, you can step up to the Shelter 501, which is another super value at the $800 price point. It is also low compliance, and I feel it is the best cartridge made under $1500, and sounds better than some cartridges costing up to $5k. It also needs a gimbal-bearing arm to work at optimum. So there you have another reason for buying a gimbal-bearing arm like the OL Silver. When you move up to a Shelter, you have an arm that can make the most of it also. To get a cartridge that would match the sonics of a Shelter 501, that could work well in a mid-priced unipivot, you would have to spend about double or triple what the 501 costs.

All in my humble opinion, of course.

Yes Sean, I agree that the Denon 103 is a tough cartridge to get the right match for. But I believe it is worth it, because then you can get awesome sound for very little money in your cartridge. This allows more to be spent on the quality arm that is needed, but still gives low replacement cost for cartridges.

As a person who has actually tried and used all of these cartridges personally, the Denon is the best low cost cartridge I know, and the Shelter 501 is the same type of value at the $800 price point. I have the Shelter 501 on my rig right now, and it just replaced a DL103R. The Shelter is a significant step up from the Denon, which is saying quite alot, because the DL103R is a very very good sounding cartridge.

I also agree that the Lyra Helikon is an excellent cartridge, but is about the same level of performance as the Shelter 501, so I think that the Shelter is a far better value, considering the costs of the Shelter($800) and Lyra($2000). And remember that the Lyra Helikon is one of the best cartridges around, and the Shelter competes well with it, at a much lower price. This is outstanding value.

Also totally agree that the ZYX Fuji is one of the best sounding cartridges available. I would definitely get one of those over a Helikon, at the same price of $2k. But my tastes would lean a little more toward the Shelter 901, which is just as good, and only $1500. For an arm that can't easily handle a low-compliance cartridge, I think the ZYX Fuji is the cartridge to beat at this end of the scale. The Shelter 901 has a bigger sound, and is better on the bass, and in larger scale music. The Fuji is perhaps slightly more delicate, and slightly better for smaller scale music. They are both very close, and could be considered as the 2 best cartridges available. If anything is better, it is very little better, and may simply be a personal taste issue. In any case, anything that MIGHT be any better will cost way more than twice as much as either of these.

Sota is a very fine table, and I know some people that have them and are happy with them.