Moving from CD to analog

Get a Basis 2200 signature with a Basis Vector arm, Shelter cartridge. The Basis line is upgradable and their midrange table/arm combination is great. Select a phono preamp, get a record cleaner, buy some records and you are good to go.

Personally I would not be too hasty getting rid of the CD setup. I recently added a TT and it is fun but also quite a bit of work. Putting aside the whole nontrivial issue of getting things dialed in, you have to jump up every 20 minutes to flip/change the record, which entails cleaning record and stylus, putting the old back in jacket, pulling the new one out, etc...in other words it is quite labor intensive for long listening sessions. Many people do not mind this (I don't either usually) but I have found that I enjoy both depending on the mood and have been listening almost exclusively to CDs lately. I also listen to internet radio, FM, and digital downloads, to me all formats have their virtues.

Zd542
Thank you for your reply. I have taken your advise and borrowed a Rega Planner turntable with original arm and a Ortofon cartridge I will give this some listening and see how I get on.

Here's a shot from the hip: Buy the very best turntable that leaves room in your budget for the other things you will need (tonearm and cartridge, I guess). This means you can spend around $8000 on a turntable. If you are willing to buy a used turntable, you have a huge choice of great turntables within that price limit. Consider Verdier, Basis, Galibier, hi-end Nottingham, Kuzma Reference, Merrill, AMG, DPS. They are all excellent belt drive turntables that will need some sort of isolation, but you can't go wrong with any. (I personally would not choose Well Tempered or SOTA at this high-ish price point, but that's just me.) You could also consider a highly tweaked idler-drive turntable, such as a Lenco or Garrard 301/401, where the hard work of re-plinthing has been done for you. My "pet" choice would be a vintage Japanese direct-drive that has been serviced, including a Kenwood L07D (very hard to find but a steal at current price of about $3500 with tonearm), Pioneer Exclusive P3 (if you can find one). I think those two transcend the Technics SP10 Mk2, but that is another candidate. Another that does compete with anything is the SP10 Mk3, but you won't find one for under $8K. For tonearms, you could then pick up a used Reed, Triplanar, Dynavector, Schroeder, Basis, and many other fine ones, to go with the turntable of your choice. Then you'd still have thousands left over for a wide choice of fine cartridges.

Philosophically, I kind of disagree with some who recommended a mid- or lower end starter turntable, because of the high quality of the rest of your system. You would just be wasting time and probably wasting money, if you were to lose on eventual re-sale.

Lowrider57
A table that is upgradable is good advise and makes good sense. Some TT have the ability to mount different arms and also multiple arms on the same TT I will consider these, thank you.