Pro Ject RM1.3 Any Good!

@rsa - I do not own, and have not heard the RM 1.3. However, I do own the Pro-Ject Carbon Debut Esprit SB. I'm pretty happy with it at it's price point. It sounds very good, but is just a little noisy relative to much more expensive TT's. The RM 1.3 is less expensive (on-sale now for $369), has an aluminum S-shaped tone arm instead of the carbon one, a minimalist plinth, no speed control and no dust cover. For my money, the Debut Esprit is a better value. I won't buy a TT that doesn't have a dust cover and buying a custom acrylic one for a table like the RM 1.3 would blow the budget for me.

Good luck with your foray into vinyl.

I'm with Ruebent on this one.  A few years ago, I had this table for all of a week before taking it back to my dealer to get something significantly better (and have since upgraded again).  For the money I think it's OK, but seriously, the lack of a dust cover was a real deal breaker for me. 

If you're looking for something inexpensive simply to test the waters with vinyl then either you'll abandon the format completely or want to upgrade to something better in pretty short order.

If you're already committed to vinyl, then I'd consider increasing your budget and moving up the product line.  As you do, you'll also get a table bundled with a better cartridge than the Sumiko Pearl.

Greg