Does a turntable make a DRAMATIC difference?

@rvpiano The one limitation with Rega table/arm is fixed VTA.. When I replaced a worn out shelter 501 with Ortofon Quintet black on my RP6 I was very disappointed with the sound and was not hearing anything that glowing reviews said about quintet black. Ortofon being much taller than shelter was the problem. I had to raise the arm base by almost 5mm to get it sound better but still not the sound I was used to with Shelter. Once I replaced RB303 with Audiomods Series VI arm with micrometer, quintet came to life. It sounds excellent now. The only other mod done to the table was replacing stock subplatter with groovetracer.

As other have said, isolation/leveling is extremely critical. Regas don't like sitting on heavy  platforms. 

@mglik 

"In fact, the RP8 will get you 90%+ of the 10. And either can be compared to tables costing much, much more.

The 6 is also good, but definitely worthwhile to go for the 8."

Yes, the RP8 is an awesome deck.

Compared to any Rega 3 you will hear big improvements in image size (esp height) and depth plus bandwidth.

Of course the RP8 is not the only turntable that can do that...

Budget decks simply have to make serious compromises, all of them.

I think it's fair to say that most of these compromises seem to center around a lack of deep bass.

VTA, tracking force and alignment are everything!   I’m pretty sure this is why some people buy an album like a 180 gram or 200 gram and give totally different reviews on the sound quality of it.  One says it sounded very dull and lacked highs and dynamics.  Another loves it and has pretty much the same table and/or turntable.  Just depends on how it’s set up.  Learning to tweak the table takes a while but with a decent system you can hear all the little changes you make.  As someone else mentioned you have to learn to do it yourself to get the most from your table. 

i've not heard any other 'tables make as dramatic a difference as what i heard listening to the ELP. 

Just like in real estate its location,  location, location, in analog its set up, set up, set up.  If its not set up correctly and yes small differences matter, the quality of the equipment will not shine through.  I agree that you need the equipment and know how to do it yourself. Its part of the fun.  If you don't have the patience or desire, best to stick with digital.  Call me sceptical but no one else is going to do it as well as you, assuming that is you know what you're doing.