Turntable qualities

Speaking to your original question, there are definitely differences between those price ranges, but it depends on the make. You will hear plenty of difference between a Rega P2 and a P5, for instance, but not nearly so much in the Project line, IMO. The Music Hall tables I would say are in between the two, and I personally would stay away from Technics. In particular, the Regas will have much better soundstaging and imaging than any of these others, if these things are important to you. They also have quite a bit better resolution of acoustic instrumental and vocal timbre, and a wider dynamic range. i ended up with a P5 myself, with the TT-PSU. IMO, this set-up beats any digital rig I have ever heard that costs up to 5 times as much. However, as the previous poster said, if you do not have a large collection of vinyl now, it may not be worth it to you, especially if you also need to find room to store your records. It also depends on what your sonic priorities are - there are many people out there who prefer digital, as they are usually mostly concerned with surface noise. It sounds like you are not one of them, though, from what you have said, so I would advise you to get the best turntable set-up you can afford.