As another newbie, still building my turntable, my opinion may not carry much weight, but here it is anyway. :-D
I will "third" the recommendation for you to get a Teres turntable. I could only afford the Model 160, birch base and lead-filled acrylic platter, but it is still pretty impressive. I also got the Teres VTA adapter to make the adjustments a lot easier, and the battery option.
Chris of Teres is very easy to work with and loves what he is doing. In his opinion, the Model 160 actually sounds closer to the Model 255, i.e., better than the 245. With your budget, I'd say go for the 255!
I auditioned various tonearms with Chris, including the Morch UP-4 & DP-6. The Morch DP-6 is a definite winner; I got the DP-6 with a 12" armwand. I matched it with the Zyx R100H cartridge - their basic model, but all I could afford. It sounds wonderful with the turnatble and the Morch. You would be able to get the Zyx Fuji, or maybe even the Airy, if you decided to go with Zyx. Mehran of Sorasound sells the Zyx right here on Audiogon and he will give you a great price - I paid about $200 below retail price for my cartridge.
I don't know much about the phono stages; I ended up getting a Holfi Battriaa Signature phono stage because the price was right, but if you can afford it, I would say go with a tube phono stage. The Hagermann Coronet sounds really nice
Well, I started with a $3000 dollar budget and more than doubled it - I'm probably going to have to get a part time job to feed my habit - but I am very happy.
Good luck and enjoy your search for audio nirvana!
I will "third" the recommendation for you to get a Teres turntable. I could only afford the Model 160, birch base and lead-filled acrylic platter, but it is still pretty impressive. I also got the Teres VTA adapter to make the adjustments a lot easier, and the battery option.
Chris of Teres is very easy to work with and loves what he is doing. In his opinion, the Model 160 actually sounds closer to the Model 255, i.e., better than the 245. With your budget, I'd say go for the 255!
I auditioned various tonearms with Chris, including the Morch UP-4 & DP-6. The Morch DP-6 is a definite winner; I got the DP-6 with a 12" armwand. I matched it with the Zyx R100H cartridge - their basic model, but all I could afford. It sounds wonderful with the turnatble and the Morch. You would be able to get the Zyx Fuji, or maybe even the Airy, if you decided to go with Zyx. Mehran of Sorasound sells the Zyx right here on Audiogon and he will give you a great price - I paid about $200 below retail price for my cartridge.
I don't know much about the phono stages; I ended up getting a Holfi Battriaa Signature phono stage because the price was right, but if you can afford it, I would say go with a tube phono stage. The Hagermann Coronet sounds really nice
Well, I started with a $3000 dollar budget and more than doubled it - I'm probably going to have to get a part time job to feed my habit - but I am very happy.
Good luck and enjoy your search for audio nirvana!