Is Rega the easiest turntable to set up....

I'd put a max offer on this

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis98a9c-rega-p3-current-unit-audiophile-turntable-turntables

P8 is the next "best" choice.

Thanks TJ.....I have attempted to contact seller......no reply yet.

Perhaps easiest to set up but also easiest to upset. (See what I did there?) Because of extremely low mass.

With a Rega three point cart it's easy, but with a 'normal' cart it's about the same.

Still need to align and check the VTF.

I had a P3 and when upgrading I would have jumped over the P6 and gone P8.

Better arm.

You might also look @ the MoFi decks which come with a variety of pre-mounted cartridges.

DeKay

The store owner will check the speed, alignment and VTF and repack and send....I've pretty much eliminated the P6 but am also looking at a MOFI........I wish I could compare both lines at around the 4K price point....anyone been able to do that.

@OP. Make sure you like the sound of Rega's cartridges as not everyone does. With all due respect I'm not sure that looking for a five minute setup is the best way to spend that amount of money. Any competent dealer will set up the turntable for you and as long as it's a non suspended design, the setup will not change in transit. Technics and Clearaudio are strong competitors in that price range and the Clearaudio's can be had as a package with one of Clearaudio's own cartridges.

When I demo'd the P3 it had a Ortofon Blue.   It sound excellent but I think I remember the dealer saying it needed a shim to accommodate the cartridge height 

Rega tables are likely the best plug and play, particularly if you buy their cart. It is tricky however with other carts as some don’t have VTA adjustments. I must agree with some of the comments. It would not be my only criteria with a 4k$ budget. I personally bought a P10 last year and put it in sale the week after. You get a better table at this price point IMHO and a good audio store will be happy to demo and set it up for you.

Rega  has a particular sound compared to others . So listening test is important

I have Rega NAIA with Apelion2 and I use it as casual TT . I purchased it as it is simple to set it up- No fuss always ready to play- Plug&play

I mostly use Clear audio innovation TT with Davinci cart

and that’s what I enjoy most- letting to instrumental-jazz-vocal

Hope you get chance to go to dealers and listen to different TT

@lewm that is simply not true. The whole concept and science behind Rega turntables is that mass doesn’t reduce vibrations but transfer and store vibrations. It’s quite easily proven. Low mass and extreme stiffness does. Simply throwing more mass at the issue is not the solution. Read up on the science.

There are a ton of TT's that come mostly pre-setup. 

Pro-Ject

Techniques

MO-Fi

That's just off the top of my head. Think if you go to any local Stereo store, they will setup the TT for you for free if you buy from them. My local places will do a free setup if you buy a new cart from them. Really most new standard style TT's are not overlay hard to setup, if you have the tools, with a little knowledge they only take 30-1hr to get dialed in. 

For instance, my Pro-Ject TT took about 20min to get running from unboxing, when I swapped carts on it, took about 45min to dial everything in. But it was my first cart swap, being paranoid to mess it up, rechecked everything several times. 

The OP can probably see there are many ways to approach his desired outcome.

"I’ve pretty much eliminated the P6 but am also looking at a MOFI"

Even the highest level Rega, it still is a polarizing brand.

Having demoed the Mofi Ultradeck in my setup 6 years ago, I heard it as a "okay" piece for the price.

Now that it’s at $1500 retail, with a $500-1K whatever cart it can be nice setup for less than $2500. With a used $2-3K phonostage it will be a decent rig until a more substantial cash outlay for a used $5K table is desired. $3-5K used can get a noticeably "better" performing unit-IMO.

Wow...You guys are giving me a lot to think about...I really appreciate everyone's input.