Got the table now I need a good arm and cart combo

Rega 301 with Ortofon 2m bronze cartridge

For this time round I need to stay in the $500 range and will be looking for a phono stage or new preamp soon.

Hi,

For $500 you can find decent sound that can be readily sold when your budget increases enough for an upgrade. There are quite a few of those choices, but here are a couple that are known performers.

Audio-Technica 1005II tonearm with a Denon 103 cartridge. This is a perfect match for effective mass, but requires a moving coil step-up of some sort. Cinemag transformers will work for that, and keep you under budget, if you shop carefully.

Another one would be a Magnepan Unitrac tonearm with a Shure M97XE cartridge. You'll have money left over with this combo, but you will still have music.

Last of all, a Schroeder Reference SQ tonearm with a Lyra Olympos cartridge driven through Intact Audio transformers...no, wait... ;)

If you want to buy new a Jelco arm with an Ortofon Red would be within your budget when you include the arm cable. It is my understanding that you can upgrade the cartridge in the future by using the stylus assembly from the more expensive models in the series. However, the Red is good as it is, I have one.

Thanks gentlemen. This is very helpful, I will begin to hunt. Keep the ideas rolling, especially if you see something for sale that I should be paying attention to.