$2000 turntable system

leotis: Great calls all around. You went a little over your budget, but the upgrades are all money well spent: Jelco 750D tonearm, Vincent PHO-8, and Hana EL. 

The reviews I've read about the Hana cartridges are very favorable and they're consistently rated as as performing well above their price points. They evidently OEM MC carts for other brands that sell for much more money.

When Herb Reichert reviewed the new Technics SL1200GAE turntable, he tried a number of cartridges on it, one of which was the Hana EL, for which he was particularly enthusiastic.

I would recommend a VPI Scout or Vinyl Nirvana (http://vinylnirvana.com/)

Ensure you do not cheap out on your phono pre-amp, the Vincent looks good. I am running a Audio Research PH3, the difference was night and day compared to a smaller solid state unit. See if you can find a used unit like that or get a Decware ZP3 (http://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm).

I have run with a Denon DL-110 and an Ortofon 2M Bronze, the Bronze wins every day.

Hope this helps. 2k is tough, its enough money to do some damage, but you will make some compromises in some areas.

My reasonable dream setup would be:

• $1500 for VPI Scout Jr (Comes with 2M Red Cart)
  
• $1200 for Decware ZP3
  

$2700 a little bit over budget...

Another great setup might be a VPI Player TT. I don't have personal experience with it, but it has a phono pre built in, its a VPI TT, and comes with a cart (2M Red) that you can upgrade in the future... maybe someone here can comment on the TT.

Thanks Guys,
None of my final choices were in my original plan.
I'm especially grateful for the George Merrell GEM Dandy tip.
Turns out Mr. Merrell is a "Living Legend." Who knew?
Just as I feared... I prefer the sound of vinyl.
So my fairly extensive digital library is gonna be playing second fiddle.
And I'm gonna have to have to pile real $$$ into the vinyl.
Another first world problem I guess.

hifiron:
I would recommend a VPI Scout or Vinyl Nirvana (http://vinylnirvana.com/)

leotis already bought his system, a GEM Polytable with Jelco 750D tonearm and Hana EL feeding a Vincent PHO-8 tube-driven phono stage.

leotis wrote:

... Just as I feared... I prefer the sound of vinyl.
So my fairly extensive digital library is gonna be playing second fiddle.
And I'm gonna have to have to pile real $$$ into the vinyl....

After 20 straight years of listening only to digital sources, I bought a turntable on March 2, 2007. I had a small clutch of LPs and money was tight, but soon my stepson (who gently persisted in convincing me to return to vinyl) and I started hitting the used record stores and thrift shops. We would return with armloads of gently used LPs for very little money. I was so taken with the sound --and especially the emotional uplift that came from listening to records--that I did not listen to even one CD until October, over seven months later. 

I have a mix of audiophile reissues, current issues, and used records that generally cost me pennies on the dollar. I got many of my very favorite records for 99 cents from thrift shops and the bargain bins of used record stores. Many of them sound phenomenal in fact. I got the complete studio discographies of The Cars, the Police, and Steely Dan for an average $4.99 per album. I have wonderful orchestral works conducted by Stokowsky, Bernstein, Reiner, and others for a buck or two. So, fear not. It's a good thing.

Whereas in the '80s people rebought their old albums as CDs, I found myself replacing CDs with LPs, sometimes with high quality reissues, but often with low cost used LPs.

One of the cool things about finding albums from the '50s through much of the '80s is that most of them have an all-analog signal chain. The hunt for vintage records can be fun and rewarding. I had just come out of heart surgery in late 2006, and the search for inexpensive used LPs got me out of the house and was good for me physically as well as emotionally.