New turntable

I agree, VPI 21. Owned an Aries for 20 years. This should give you just enough for a good cartridge. I really can’t say too much good about them. If I had more space for a second turntable I would have one. For a cartridge I would research the VPI. I had a Van den Hull… frog, great cartridge if that is the sound you are going for.

I now own a Linn LP12, a level up. They are no longer difficult to set up… but still for people like me, and sounds like you… I don’t want to touch them. I would break it. Also, my dealer is a master certified Linn technician and actually likes to set up turntables. 

Former VPI owner X2 plus a bunch of others. Given your stated preferences and budget you should give the Pure Fidelity Harmony paired with an Origin Live Illustrious. This combo will vastly outperform whatever VPI you might get for the same or more money. Seriously great table. Send me a PM if you want to learn more—I’m working on a review that will drop after the holidays.

If selecting table and arm separately, I just installed this Technics EPA-250 Tonearm and EPA-B500 Base Combo for a friend, it is as good as everyone says, and it has two wonderful features if you are going for a Single Arm TT:

1. removable headshell, so you can have several mounted, i.e. MM stereo; MC Stereo; Mono. (there is an optional arm/ fixed cartridge version)

2. VTA on the Fly, superb, turn the dial, up/dn while playing: stays where you put it. Change headshell, adjust VTA, adjust tracking/anti-skate: play on!

My friend’s had been unused for a long time, the lifter and anti-skate both were frozen, I had to carefully get them working.

verify with seller: arm lift works properly! anti-skate works properly. OEM Phono Cable (with integral ground pin) included? Not critical, you can and perhaps want to use a different rca/rca phono cable. Then you adapt the ground wire to a bullet pin, same diameter as the rca pin.

Verify you have room for the base, it is a larger diameter than many.

...............................

Here is the fixed cartridge arm A501H on the B500 base

OEM phono included here

@catahula_bill - Nothing wrong with VPI - great turntables.

However take a look at Music Hall MMF11.3 - why?

• Unique quadruple-plinth design wtih sorbothane vibration isolationn
• One-piece Project ‘9cc Evolution’ carbon fiber tonearm
• Arm uses four hardened Swiss ABEC 7 ball races in an inverted bearing design
• Tonearm is internally wired with flexible wire drawn from high purity copper with only two contact points from cartridge to output connectors
• Counterweight’s center of gravity is level with the stylus tip is decoupled from the arm and acts as a resonance damper
• Fully adjustable azimuth, VTA, and dampened arm lift
• Exclusive microprocessor electronic speed controlled dual motor single flywheel drive system
• 33 1⁄3 and 45 rpm speed change at the touch of button
• Motors and flywheel assembly are isolated on mass loaded resonant sink connected to the lower plinth
• the dual motor flywheel system sits on the left side of the turntable thus eliminating all motor and belt vibration from the cartridge
• Magnetic-levitation adjustable isolation feet
• inverted ceramic main bearing for super quiet fluid operation
• thick acrylic platter with a removable acrylic dustcover
• high quality, gold RCA connectors with detachable phono cable
• low noise fully manual belt-drive design, dustcover, 45rpm adaptor
• ships securely in a substantial wood box

It’s well within your budget and there are deals out there (so shop around) and you will have enough for a really great cartridge - maybe a Sound-smith? And a good interconnect cable !

The MMF 9.3 is even more affordable and almost as good

If looks matter - there is a really nice Walnut plinth option

https://musichallaudio.com/

Good luck - Steve