Taking the analog plunge...

Well, if you have to stay away from tubes you might as well toss your whole system and buy SS gear. But since I'm guessing that ain't gonna happen, I'd give the EAR the nod. I used one early on, and had great luck with it. The Wright is also highly recommended.

As far as TT's go, read some of the Teres threads. You can get up the ladder including an arm & cartridge for the 3 grand+ you'll have left over after the 834P or Wright. $2500 for an unfinished 245, $570 for a OL250, and $250 for a Denon103r. That's all new pricing. You can probably do a lot better on the arm. A 150 or 160 saves a lot more.

I've got it (a diy modified 245) and I love it. It smokes any LP12 or lower end Nott I've ever heard. Don't know about the GyroSE, but IMHO that thing is not as good looking as a Teres. And I'm not a fan of any kind of suspension under my TT. But at least both are upgradeable. If you find the aesthetics pleasing, I think you'll be better off with the Teres.

I'd try the Altmann, but only with the tie-wrap!

And stepups work very well, and are dead quiet if you have to go that way. I've tried both the K&K and the Microgroove with good results. And the K&K to your list for $250.

The other thing you may want to check on is adding a phono board to your 5i. Not sure if you can, but it would be worth a call or email to find out. I know they offer all kinds of upgrades.

Just thought I'd add one more opinion to a list that should be very diverse. At least I've tried to stay close to your budget. $6500 for the last suggestion with NO phono stage probably isn't going to help you a lot. Good hunting, it should be fun!

Joe

Dan_ed, Looneytunz, Joe, et al,
Whoa big fella ... I said 'may' limit. No bashing of either tubes nor MM cartridges here. But most tube phono stages only have enough gain for either MM or posibly HO MC. Sure, you could add a step-up transformer (some tube phono pre's like the oft-mentioned 834P have them integrated). But with budget concerns as they are, I just thought he shouldn't overlook some fine SS phono pre's, such as Acoustech PH-1P or Gram Slee Gold. Or he may well be happy with an MM cartridge.

No worries here! I have nothing against SS and you're right. There are some good SS phono stages out there. From time to time I see this idea thrown out that tubes somehow limit the cartridges you can use and I don't believe it is the tubes as much as the individual phono stages themselves which may not have enough gain for some of the low ouput carts. But there is a way around that issue.

My local BAT dealer uses the Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable for his stuff.

It would fall in your price range and actually there are currently two on sale for about $2000 with matching tonearm included.

I didn't find anything on the BAT website that would suggest that there is a phono card availiable for the 5i, but I am going to write Victor a note and see if he has something up his sleeve (he usually does.)

The SS issue really is a non-starter. I see nothing wrong with using a solid state pre and, in fact, the Graham Slee has made my short list.

Thanks to you all, I've narrowed my table choices down to one of the following: a Gyro SE, a Teres or a Final Tool (there is a nifty deal over at Needle Doctor putting this one well within reach.)

As far as tonearms go, I'm torn between an RB300 and some crudely whittled tree limbs wire-tied together. Seeing as there seems to be a virtual concensus on the quality of the Rega, I think it will make for a nice inexpensive entry level piece to get me up and running and that I can upgrade later.

Cartridges still elude me. Tooooo many choices. This part of the process is probably going to take the longest to resolve, cosidering at least part of the choice is going to be dependent upon the pre, table and tonearm I go with.

Are we having fun yet? YES!!! Thanks again guys...