Your choice - TT, Arm, Stage, Cartridge - $5000 budget

I think you have gotten good advice.

I spent 3700 and still have a very nice sounding setup. VPI Prime (2500)/MS Nova Phomena (500) and Soundsmith Aida (675). All purchased used.

With the Extra money personally I would buy a record cleaner. Some would go for spending more on a Phono Stage... up it to 1500 bucks. I think either way you would have a nice analog system. 100% with turntables that cost 2500-3000 (used) you are going to need a record cleaner now or down the road. 

Soundsmith is a great used (or new) buy because they sound great, can be re-tipped for a very reasonable price multiple times and suspensions never collapse (you can always get a MC later down the road)

there are a lot of ways to get there for 5k used. I would pick 3-4 tables, 3-4 phono stages and research used prices. Aggressively search and when one comes up at a price you know is too good to pass up buy right away or it will be gone quick. That is my advice

If you are going to skimp.... skimp the cart. It's going to wear out and you will probably want to try a few anyway. 

Yeah if a Prime is on your list that is about the best I have seen. There was one sold on another board by a guy upgrading and he sold it out of good will for $2400 which is the lowest I have seen to date. 

If its not on your list just skip it because nothing is going to make you want it if you really are not interested in the table/brand even at a good price.

For the record I am listening to Blues Breakers with John Mayall and Eric Clapton. I would say a very nice 3d state, well balanced with nice resolution and smooth sound.

If the VPI is not for you I would consider Well Tempered Amadeus. I think some of the SME or Basis tables are going to be hard to work in your budget with a nice Phono stage unless you go really cheap for your first cart which is a viable strategy. A cheap cart can sound pretty good on a nice analog setup. A expensive cart on a cheap analog system not so much. 

I think buying the Second Tier version of the new Technics would also be an option. It would  be new and high performance. More on the quick tight analytical side but a lot of bang for the buck I am guessing from reading the reviews. 

Honestly you can't go wrong with that table at that price. 100% what I did. Does it mean that there are no other tables that are amazing or even better.... no 

But its a very solid construction, up-gradable, sounds very balanced and smooth, very good soundstage. To boot a lot of people use VPI so a lot of advice and opinions available through these forums and the VPI forum. These tables and parts don't get the import taxes add. There will always be a market for VPI. 30 year old VPI tables still sell on here. 

If you end up getting it please give us your impressions good or bad. 

Whacky

To be honest most people are just going to suggest what they have or heard. Problem is that many people never get to compare tables side by side in the same system. Also even if they do some carts work better with different arms, phono stages, amps and speakers. At the end of the day its very subjective and personnel at this price point you are talking about.

A lot of these "Huge " differences are not really huge but subtle and have to do with personnel taste and system matching. Sadly you are not going to get a lot of real head to head comparisons. Trust me I have looked and done tons of research. This hobby always leaves you wondering about if Product x is better than what you bought. The lack of dealers and true head to head reviews kinda puts us all in the situation. Just go with something sold and keep your ears open. A table in this price point should and most likely will sound amazing.

http://https//www.audiogon.com/listings/cartridges-soundsmith-zephyr-mimc-stereo-phono-cartridge-factory-rebuilt-2762-2017-07-03-analog

No relation to seller. I also have the Soundsmith Aida on the prime. This is a factory rebuilt cart for half the retail price. Remember this is MM/MI so less gain needed and no suspension to collapse. Its essentially new since the manufacture has rebuilt it. It can be rebuilt or re-tipped in the future at a very low price comparability to other carts. 

It also comes with a scale and Soundsmith E-Z mount screws which I use and like (worth like 45 bucks)

Yes it is somewhat dicey buying used. My suggestions are. 

1. Buy from someone with many sales and excellent feedback. 
2. I would not buy an MC over $700 used. Its just too big of a risk. You have to figure out what your risk level amount 
3. If the say it has 600 hours or more pass
3. I think soundsmith would work well with your system I know it will work well with the prime/arm combo. 

I bought a SS Aida for under half of retail. I can get it re-tippped for $350.00. Its a $1900 cart retail. Even if it needs to be rebuilt after say a year you still got an amazing deal. They don't really go bad...... I guess unless you take it apart or smash it.

who knows if you would like the sound. Its very dynamic, smooth and musical. Not as detailed as some MC carts like the Lyra but it has a more full sound  The SS highs might not pop as much as MC but its a very balanced sound. 

Dynavector's work very well with VPI. I like their house sound. I find Soundsmith more neutral, Slightly more detail and a fuller sound. Dyanvector is a musical cart but I find Sound smith more musical 

The Lyra that I heard was very detailed. Leaner than Dyanvector and way more so than SS. More detail and resolution with a more analytical type sound IMO. 

Used does increase your performance ratio per dollar but comes with risk. SS Carts take some of that away. But carts are very personnel. Someone could come along and totally disagree with my thoughts on these carts and they would not be wrong. Just their ears vs mine.