What turntable in the $2500 range?

@lewm You raise an interesting point.  That fixed headshell arms outperform interchangeable ones is a given for me.  Undoubtedly there are many reasons.  SME Canada, who rebuilt both my Series II and III arms a year ago, stressed the advantage that you bring up of having continuous wire from cartridge to phono stage.  No breaks, no noise, nothing to interfere with the signal.  I am sure that is part of it.  I also notice at least with SME arms, that the slightly lower mass of the fixed headshell variety results in better tracking performance all else equal.  It was this observation that drove my decision to convert my own arm to fixed.  A recent experience with AnalogMagik on my Technics GAE turntable, where I discovered that using an aftermarket headshell that weighed 12 grams, vs. 8 grams for the OEM headshell resulted in the arm/cartridge resonance frequency being out of spec too high is also instructive.  Even a slight increase in mass at the headshell can have a detrimental impact on overall performance.  I have new found admiration and respect for Shure and that little brush they developed for their V-15 series cartridges to ameliorate some of these effects. 

Technics. Look for one in your price bracket. And find a Shure V15 V-MR cartridge.

and run with capacitance of 210pF

I would second billstevenson about the VPI HW tables. I used an HW19III for over 20 years with SME IV arm, which does not have a removable headshell. It is why my friend sold it as he liked swapping cartridges all the time. I don't care to but am more liable to have multiple turntables, which I have. I currently use a Linn LP12, which you may find used in your budget but it would not likely have a removable headshell either. Linns tend to be fidgity/fussy but loved by many, including myself.

You are getting a lot of Technics 1200 and 1300 suggestions. They have a lot of happy owners. I'm just not a big fan of DD. Many are.

Lots of vintage stuff out there for $1500 or less with arms that have removable headshells. Many from the 70's and 80's are great old rigs. Dual, Thorens, Micro Seiki, AR, Lenco and probably plenty of others that would perform very well for just what you want to do. It can be a fun journey...........it can also be a PITA. Best of luck. 

I have owned a Technics 1500C, thought it was a bit of a tank and the queing was abysmal. Deal breaker for me but a decent TT.

I want to thank you all for this beautiful conversation. I learned that a fixed headshell is an improvement, now it clearly make sense to me. Maybe I should keep my cheap old TT and have some fun changing cartridges and go with the VPI route and discover a new world.
What cartdridge would you suggest for a VPI with a JMW arm?
I live in the Atlanta area and I am wondering if anybody has a setup that I could listen to it, at the end of the day it is also about our ears and what we like.