TT and cartridge choice

+1 for the Music Hall 9.3 - they put a lot of good design into this product, especially the arms - the plinth on the 9.3 SE is also very good.

• music hall’s unique triple plinth construction
• one-piece full carbon fiber tonearm
• counterweight’s center of gravity is level with the stylus tip, is decoupled from the arm, and acts as a resonance damper
• completely isolated/decoupled DC motor with 33 and 45 rpm speed controls located in the front left corner of the turntable, thus canceling any potential vibration from the motor/belt to the cartridge
• motor sits on its own resonance damping puck
• optional Goldring Eroica LX low-output moving-coil cartridge with Gyger II line contact stylus ($795 value)
• the cartridge supplied is properly aligned and mounted
• inverted ceramic main bearing for super quiet, fluid operation
• non resonant, 1” thick acrylic platter
• soft felt platter mat
• high quality gold RCA connectors and detachable phono cable
• adjustable tip toe feet with anti scratch cups
• low noise fully manual belt drive design
• built-in round spirit level for proper leveling
• dust cover and 45 rpm adaptor included

You can get the 9.3 with the Goldring Eroica LX
- so try it first before spending money on another cartridge
- always trust your ears

If YOU like it that’s all that matters :-)

Regards - Steve

The Project Pespex is dull and needs more detail and transparency according to What HiFi. I would stay away. The Technics 1200GR (1210 in black) with an AT760SLC mentioned above would be a great table under budget and you’ll have mons left over for software.

I was also thinking about the Rega P6 with the 2M Black. I am hesitant to use a MC with my amp/preamp (MA352)

@zeeeee83 - I originally had a 1981 Rega Planar II with the glass platter, but was never satisfied with the sound.- the glass platter is particularly problematic - great for wow/flutter - lousy for sound quality

After 25 years of "investment" in tweaks and upgrades my TT is now finally sounding amazing.

But the only original parts left from the old Planar II is the lid and the on/off switch
- here are my upgrades...
Turntable Mod’s | My Audio Alchemy (image99.net)

The Music Hall range has many/all of those tweaks built right into it, so I believe it is the better of the two brands.

You could save some oney and drop down to the Music Hall 7.3 with the Ortofon Black cartridge.- a great TT/cartridge  combo

If you decide to go with an MC cartridge I can highly recommend Simaudio MOON phono stages - they are beyond whisper quiet and can accomodate most of todays cartridges
- even the entry level Moon 110LP v2.

• End-user adjustable gain settings for moving magnet and moving coil cartridges (40dB, 50dB, 54dB, 60dB, 66dB)

The 310LP is another level up from that and an extremely adept performer

Hope that helps

Regards - Steve

That Mac only has a mm phono section. The only mc that you can use is a high output one!