Rega, Pro-ject, Music Hall, NEED help

Thanks to all for the replies.  

P.S: I just realized your budget is about $1000; the restored Thorens price would be higher, without cartridge.  Therefore, having owned all 3 of the TTs you mentioned] I would go with the Music Hall 5.3 with installed Ortofon bronze. An easy choice, in my opinion!I  I also forgot to mention in my previous post, I owned an RP8.

Well, I had all those turntables you listed, except mine was the MusicHall  5.1.There was not much difference I liked the Rega because of the ease in installing  Rega cartridges, which I, however, do not like, all the way up to the exact.  I traded all those TTs in eventually. {I also had Rega P5 and RP6.] I actually prefer restored vintage Thorens TTs with a Jelco arm which allows easy cartridge switching due to the universal headshell. Take a look at Vinyl Nirvana's site.

Until the new Technics 1200 is released later this year, I would go with a Stanton ST150 at $600.  Yes, I know it is a DJ table, but I have been using one happily in my main system for the last year.  You will need to swap out the cartridge (go inexpensive like a Shure 35C or ramp up to a Denon 103) and provide your own preamp, but it is quite the turntable for the money.  

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ST150HP

Rich

Second on the Sota.  If you're willing to go used, you could even find a nice Sapphire in good shape with a decent arm for that kind of money.  That gets you into a reference-capable rig with a myriad of upgrade choices as time goes by.

The Rega is a good table and a fair value new, but has no suspension.  That could be an issue for you depending on where you will place the rig. Both the Music Hall and Pro-Ject are also well-regarded, but I've not heard those units so can't offer useful input.

Good luck & happy listening!

Another nice option! $850.00
http://www.sotaturntables.com/newtables/moonbeam.htm