Turntable advice

To spend $5K for your list of needs, Pro-Ject hits the sweet spot with the X8 EVO, a Wellfleet cart, HeadBox and PhonoBox DS3. I would add a pair of Sennheiser HD660S and a Cardas Parsec cable. Other carts to consider…Ortofon 2M Bronze, Dynavector 10X5 Low. 

right.....VPI almost demands "fiddling around".   With that said...you really only have to do it twice (the second time to assure the first time was correct).  Perfect VTA, and perfect side thrust compensation is only sharpening the edge but in many cases make little difference.  I have a VPI and like it, but I wonder if you'd actually just like to play a record and smile.

Agree on the 1200GR out of this group for your use case. The removable headshell will allow you to keep multiple cartridges ready to swap in easily in a few minutes.

Adjustable feet including springs will make it easier to level and isolate using furniture as a base. 

The motors are legendary and long lasting. 

Setup is easy and service/parts will be more stable/available than other boutique options. 

If it were my money I'd talk to Sota about certified trade-ins or buy a used one and have it shipped directly to Sota for evaluation/service/any wanted upgrades. Full suspension (neutralizing wood floor issue), vacuum hold down and compatibility with most arms give you flexibility now and in the future. Cheers,

Spencer

I’m a BIG fan of clearaudio products. The concept Turntable can be factory ordered with the arm and cartridge of choice properly aligned! It’s basically plug and play! If you plan to “abuse” your cartridge by playing uncleaned records, you do not want the MC cartridge. But if you want to get the most from your turntable, you DO want the MC cartridge option. The satisfy arm is good! It deserves a decent cart. ($2800 for the satisfy/concept MC option.) The concept turntable performs above its pay grade. Clearaudio also has an entry level phono amp that can be ordered with a headphone Jack (about $800.) Spend some dough on a reallllly nice headphone set if that’s how you will listen. Some amps also have a phono amp built into it. So, it’s possible to find one amp with a phono amp and decent headphones amp, thus an all in one option.

Arcam has some very “musical” home theater amps that have earphone Jack and can be ordered with a phono amp option. I think they have about 120 watts per channel which should adequately drive most speakers. But there are lots of amps in the $750-1500 price range that can sound decent. I’d suggest taking an album you know really well, take your headphones with you also, and try out some amps with a clearaudio table set up like you want. Clearaudio tends to be neutral, not “warm” but detailed. So finding an amp to give you your desired “warmth” can be accomplished by talking with your dealer and then listening live before you buy. 

Finally, PLEASE do not abuse your cartridge and your vinyl by playing it dirty. At least buy a spin clean record cleaner and fluid. It will get the gross dirt out and will save you needing a second wand/cart set up! And it will reduce the pops and wear on the records. 
 

Happy shopping!

Buy a Rega P6 with a factory installed Rega cartridge. It’ll take about 15-20 minutes to unbox, level, set the tracking force, set the anti-skate adjustment and start playing records. No worries about azimuth, zenith, vertical tracking angle; etc. I currently have a Rega P10 and a Linn LP12 with upgrades. The Rega turntables are as close to plug-n-play as it gets and they sound great.  The cost will be well under your $3500 budget.  You'll have enough money left over to buy a good record cleaning machine which is must for enjoying vinyl.  You can buy a VPI 16.5 or even better an ultrasonic record cleaner.