What to look for in a good turntable???

Try A VPI Scout.1500.00 list,1350.00,discount. Will give you another perspective into what music should sound like.

Ewe all know what the Psychic uses...

WARNING! The following is the biased view of a DEALER!

The most important thing is that regardless of the components you select, they be installed and setup properly, and that they perform well together as a system. Professional setup is different than just mounting and aligning the cartridge. Choose a dealer who you know has the knowledge to perform a full professional set up.

As for the hardware, The SOTA Comet-III/250 table and arm with Grado Statement Series Platinum cartridge, and Grado PH1 Phono Stage is an amazing vinyl system that delivers far more than you'd expect for $1250. And everything except the Rega arm is made in the USA... Harry

It's the P25, which is upline of the P3. Clip and paste the address into your address bar and you can see the sale ad right here on Audiogon.

Regards,
John

Cartridge is most important. The overall character of the setup will be determined by that choice> shelter 501 would be my top pick At $800 bucks it sounds like a lot to spend on a starter table. It's not. You can live with this cartridge until you are ready to spend in excess of $4000 on a table.
Arm next Clearaudio Unify or Graham Robin At around $800 these are it. If your not ready to spend that much yet; look at Rega 250 300's.

Table : look for Acrylic platter minimum 30mm 50-70 better; isolated motor; spit plinth. The Clearaudio champion is a great place to start; because you can upgrade it all the way to a Champion Level II Base price $1000
Basis also offers a similar upgrade path starting with the Basis 1400

Good luck
Mike

Oh yea,what Rega table are you guy's talking about?
Is it the Planar3? Or something a little farther up?

I'm going to wait a couple days so that everyone who has an opinion on the matter has a chance to voice it.

That Rega TT is a very good table! I have a rega arm on my Sota and it's kind of a pain because the Rega RB 900 does not have a VTA adjustment. With this table you would not need it. For someone starting out who doesn't want to putz with their table the Rega would be great.

IMO you should start with the source. The cartridge is the most important piece here since it extracts everything it can off of the LP. A good cartridge like the Shelter 501, Benz Glider, or even the inexpensive Sumiko Bluepoint Special on the Rega table will bring a smile to your face. The Shelter or Benz cartridges will obviously sound better than the cheaper Sumiko but you have to start somewhere.

If you have the good platform of the Rega table (or many others for that matter) along with a decent cartridge they will give you Meridian a run for it's money!

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?anlgtabl&1049200862

That would make a good starter table. Throw on a Dynavector 10X4 mk II cartridge and it'll blow your 508.24 out of the water. Rega are good tables for beginners, not much fuss.

BTW, I am not associated with Mrstereo.

Good luck,
John

PS: Table is most important, than arm, than cartridge, IMHO. Spend all you can on the table, it will get you the biggest bang for the buck. It's also easier to upgrade tonearms and cartridges as you go on, than the table.