how much should I spend to get a better turntable than my current turntable?

Should have bought the mmf-7.3 to begin with....a fabulous sounding turntable as is....

Perhaps take a look at the VPI, Rega or Clearaudio ranges of turntables to find your price/budget point. Then you can begin your search for a cartridge!

I see the OP’s TT listed at $299. My budget was similar to the OP. I ended up with a U-Turn Orbit Plus (around $600 total I think after the "upgrade" to the acrylic platter) it came with an Ortofon 2m Red which I plan on upgrading to the 2m Blue stylus one day. I’m happy with it since I play records only about 10% of my listening time.

I’ve seen great Fluance reviews. The main difference between the RT-83, 84, and 85 are the cartridges they come with. If your budget is low get the RT-83 and upgrade the cart when you can. It sounds like your budget for a TT and cart is in the $1000 range total.

One thing to consider is whether this is going to be your only workhorse TT and what albums you will be playing. Do you shop for used albums locally or at flea markets, yard sales and such or only play pristine "new" albums? If you do shop used, it can be pragmatic to get a TT with a removable head shell. Buy an extra head shell and put a low-end cart on it like a $99 Grado Black or a $69 Audio Technica. Use THAT one to play the used vinyl to make sure they are OK before trusting your better cart to them.

I have an ancient Technics P-Mount with a $30 AT EP-85 cart in my den I use for testing used records before trusting them to the newer U-Turn.

Don't understand the question!!!

Are you asking us "what is your budget"?

Regas are all a step up from what you have.

Jasonbourne52 is right on the money with the Pioneer also Sony have decent machines.....

So sort out your budget and if you don't have a physical dealer near you then come back for some suggestion.

Good Luck.....its all worth it at the end :-)

Here is the problem:

• If you want to buy a good boombox, today there is NOTHING.
• If you want to buy a good cassette deck, today there is NOTHING.

So, I recommend you buy a vintage turntable from the golden age.

Dual 1019 is the workhorse turntable of 1965-1980 (mine), all steel, never breaks.

Technics SL-1200 is the workhorse turntable of 1980-2000.  If not Technics, then audio-technica or yamaha or another well-known japanese brand.

Don’t bother with a modern turntable, all that is available are mass-produced dime-store manual turntables with nice finishes for less than $1500, and golden-ear turntables for the low, low price of only $20,000!

I prefer the Dual 1019, an idler-drive turntable. It’s a fully automatic/manual do-it-all turntable which supports 18, 33, 45, 78 rpm, supports 33rpm changers, supports 45pm CHANGERS [can’t touch this]. The original MSRP equates to $1300 in today’s dollars and it was a #1 seller so you get the benefits of a good design and mass-produced goodness. Dual was the go-to german turntable for truly high-end-hifi used by millions of system - accept no substitutes. The 1019 is top-of-the-line for 10" platter turntables. The 12-series is also good with 12" platters (no heavier) but more bulky. Good models of the 1019 in fully-restored condition are available for $500-$1000, and they will last you 20y+ of daily usage.

I know people who use $400 TVs and spend $1000/yr on cable TV. That’s ridiculous! You should save up and spend AT LEAST one year’s worth of annual cable subscription on the TV! How about spending a week’s worth worth of vinyl (8 hrs/day, $22/album, ~70 albums) on a turntable? So save up and get closer to $1500 for a budget, and allot $100-$200 for a cartridge. I’m not saying spend $1500 for certain, but $299 is definitely a throw-away turntable using play-money just bought simply to see if can spin.