Best turntable for the buck

The Rega P8 is more than acceptable.

It's one of the very best decks I've ever heard. It handles surface noise extremely well.

To get an even more expansive sound than that might mean a trip into vinyl insanity.

+1 @cd318 & @tablejockey 

I've thought about where a next step could be from my P8 and the thought of the tonearm matching issues and probably spending double the cost of the P8 to get something better and getting local support for that exact model would be a challenge. One of my main philosophies - KISS - maybe not applicable to many of the forum contributors here, but it's worked well for me over the years.

​​​​​​​Like I said, I've found the isolation improvements worth more than a turntable/arm upgrade of a step or two. BTW, I use a VDH MC One Special and I find it clean and detailed, a good match for the P8 from a weight standpoint as well.

@knollbrent that is an impressive set of TTs.

My dealer refuses to let me try out a new turntable with my Clearaudio cartridge in my system. I can’t say that I blame him (it would be a lot of work) but it’s a deal breaker for me. I don’t want to be stuck with a turntable the equivalent of mine. My very upgraded Rega tonally really sounds great. My problem is that It does not do the job of separating the instruments with space around them the way my digital system does. Maybe it’s too much to expect that the relatively inexpensive VPI will do that any better. As someone previously mentioned 4K is  unrealistic. So, I may have to be satisfied with my very rich and smooth sounding analog side without the soundstaging.

$4k is completely realistic. A few here (including me) have mentioned the Technics. It’ll do what you want. Also easy to set up and use. It’s maintenance free and built like a tank. It sounds amazing.

Music Direct offers a 60 day home trial. You’ve really got nothing to lose.