Top turntables?

I would say $3000 gets you a great cartridge. $2500-$4000 for an arm. The remainder for a turntable. Do you have a record cleaning machine, a good rack, and software - setup discs, high quality records? No rules, just a rough idea.

Dgad,

I'll disagree - I think $300 will get you a great cartridge IF it's mounted on a table/arm up to the task. I'd spend the most on a table, then the arm, and place the cart after the horse...say 55-65% table, 10% on a cart and the rest on the arm. Personally, I run a Galibier Gavia, with a Triplanar VII, and a Denon 103R - purely, magically musical, with a decent enough dose of "hi-fi" thrown in not to get in the way. YMMV.

-Richard

I've been at the German High End 2007, there are a few Demonstration Set Ups with Turntables (Raven, DPS, Continuum, Audiomeca ....) Honestly, when the Line Stage or Phono Stage is dead sounding (and there are loads of them out there), forget the analog Magic. The result is a dead, lifeless, dull Sound without an Airy, lifelike High Frequency Area. Discussions about Turntables is like rolling a Dice ....

Jean Nantais inimitably wrote: "You want PRESENCE, excitement, the sort of PALPABILITY which hits you in the stomach and leaves you gasping for breath, try a properly set-up idler-wheel drive. "

And all I can lamely say is... "X 10"

What Patrickamory said. Beg Jean Nantais to build you a Lenco -- even the cosmetics are getting superb now. Then marvel.