Possibly Looking for a Turntable/Cartridge Under $1000

The magic of CDs was not headroom, it is NO NOISE, FOR LIFE! That was a dream come true.

That’s why so many of us got into CD’s big time. Me: over 4,000 of them. Happily I didn’t get rid of my LP’s, many people gave me their LPs when they stopped playing them.

I had excellent cartridges before CD, however I never properly cleaned my old LPs, and my alignment skills were basic, trusting inaccurate dials.

When I got back into LPs, I played only new or very clean used ones, and then I learned how to clean my dirty ones, what a difference.

I bought some inexpensive tools and improved my alignment skills. Not perfection, just to have the confidence that alignments and calibrations were done with tools of measured accuracy and simple but revealing methods.

Then I inherited 5,000 LPs, primarily Jazz, mostly played once, maybe twice.

That’s the key to enjoyment, minimum noise, hands on, ....

It’s the cartridge/stylus shape/cantilever material that makes the biggest audible difference, we diddle with better tonearms to improve the alignment. It’s the lack of arm height adjustment and lack of azimuth adjustment that defines a ’starter’ turntable for me, but you only go there AFTER you get hooked!

Your budget is too low to get a great adjustable tonearm, but it is enough to get a darn good sounding setup.

Personally think CD's win in the noise floor area. But once you have clean records, and a very good cart, the difference is minimal. CD's can be cold, records can feel like they have life in them. It's a give and take, sometimes one is better over the other. 

IMHO, you can NOT dabble in vinyl. You either do it, or you do not. It is a big investment, in both time and money. Low end TT's suck, they have so much noise, and can be finical on setup, lacking some key adjustments. Think getting a $1k used TT, then a $500 cart would be a great starting point. 

In my TT journey over the last 3 years has been 3 new TT's about 5 carts, several cables, then a couple power supplies. Once getting my current TT, I realized the money wasted on the "budget" TT's and carts. Once you experience a low noise floor on a TT, with dynamics, and punch, you will understand it. 

here's another used AT160ML auction about to end

Here’s an opportunity to take a chance on a used AT160ML MM Cartridge with MicroLine Stylus on Beryllium Cantilever, in an AT Magnesium Headshell that provides both Azimuth adjustment and ’concealed’ overhang adjustment.

This is my preferred cartridge, for it's sound, imaging, and light 1.25g tracking.

https://auc.aleado.com/yahoo/lot?auctionID=v1204216654#enlargeimg

You need an account with Aleado, a bidding agent, enough verified funds in your account to cover your bid, and then there are many small add on charges, double shipping (seller ships in Japan to Aleado who verifies the item) (Aleado gives you alternate methods/costs to choose to ship to you).

Even with the add-ons, I have done well for about half a dozen items this way.

I do not know this seller. Shipping to USA will resume, 15% tariffs added/billed later on the net winning cost of the item, no tarrifs on the add-on charges. 

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I like Boron if buying new, and I see they still sell 3 VMN Boron Stylii that fit these older AT150, AT155, AT160; AT440 bodies 

AT-VMN45xML (microlinear/nude/boron cantilever)
AT-VMN50xSH (Shibata/nude/boron cantilever)
AT-VMN60xSL (special line contact/nude/boron cantilever)

https://www.audio-technica.com/en-gb/support/which-stylus-can-i-use-to-replace-my-discontinued-model?srsltid=AfmBOoqmY8LH9JfjLmVnMHaK7edGe8NmiyTNluGGDkQDaGLFGN74nzzh

Thank you for all of the suggestions. It gives me quite a lot to think about. Still not sure what I'm going to do at this point. It seems that it takes quite a bit of money to get into vinyl in a meaningful way, rather than just get a turntable.

U-Turn makes some well reviewed great tt well within your price range. I would personally be looking gently used.