I second Lugnut. I haven't heard an Illustrious but I owned a highly modded OL Silver. It couldn't hold a candle to a Schroeder, any Schroeder. I'd be embarassed to drag an OL arm into the same room with a Schroeder.
At the meet Lugnut attended the $2,400 Schroeder Two matched or beat a $3,900 Graham 2.2/IC-70. That was with a ZYX UNIverse on each arm, same table, same everything, we even tried two different preamps and some stepups.
There are no commercial reviews of a Teres because Teres doesn't sell via dealers, advertise in mags or provide free goodies to reviewers. We've discussed this a few times in the past. What they do is make well engineered tables and sell them directly to users for lower prices. There have been a few side by side comparisons described here and on VA. Not many, but a search should turn them up.
I also second Mrmb's endorsement of small, cottage industry manufacturers. You have to do your homework, the mainstream reviewers won't do it for you, but the value and performance often go far beyond what larger companies provide at given price points. If you can set up your own table, arm and cartridge then why not pay yourself the dealer's share? That's what you're doing in effect when you buy direct from Teres, Galibier, Scheu, etc.
Here's one plausible setup near your budget:
Teres 265 (Rosewood) $3,875
Teres VTA adaptor 200
Schroeder DPS 3,900
TOTAL $7,975 before discount
Teres may offer a package discount to put it near your budget. That would be a fine front end. You didn't say what cartridge(s) you'll be using, what kind of music you like or what kind of sound you're after. Knowing all that would help extend the discussion.
At the meet Lugnut attended the $2,400 Schroeder Two matched or beat a $3,900 Graham 2.2/IC-70. That was with a ZYX UNIverse on each arm, same table, same everything, we even tried two different preamps and some stepups.
There are no commercial reviews of a Teres because Teres doesn't sell via dealers, advertise in mags or provide free goodies to reviewers. We've discussed this a few times in the past. What they do is make well engineered tables and sell them directly to users for lower prices. There have been a few side by side comparisons described here and on VA. Not many, but a search should turn them up.
I also second Mrmb's endorsement of small, cottage industry manufacturers. You have to do your homework, the mainstream reviewers won't do it for you, but the value and performance often go far beyond what larger companies provide at given price points. If you can set up your own table, arm and cartridge then why not pay yourself the dealer's share? That's what you're doing in effect when you buy direct from Teres, Galibier, Scheu, etc.
Here's one plausible setup near your budget:
Teres 265 (Rosewood) $3,875
Teres VTA adaptor 200
Schroeder DPS 3,900
TOTAL $7,975 before discount
Teres may offer a package discount to put it near your budget. That would be a fine front end. You didn't say what cartridge(s) you'll be using, what kind of music you like or what kind of sound you're after. Knowing all that would help extend the discussion.