Does a turntable make a DRAMATIC difference?


I purchased some analog gear in the hopes of making my analog side (a Sutherland 20 20 phono preamplifier and a Hana ML cartridge) at least the equal of my digital side. Although it has markedly improved the sound of my records it has not equaled the SQ of my digital sources. I know my turntable ( a heavily modified Rega RP3 with two power supplies and many other internal tweaks) is the weakest link. My question is, will a new improved turntable make a MAJOR difference, or just incrementally improve the sound. Or do I have to spend major bucks to achieve what I want.

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A turntable’s job is not just to turn the platter at the prescribed speed. It also needs to isolate the platter from vibration and other outside forces. The tone arm has to carry the properly set up cartridge and make sure it tracks optimally. None of this is inexpensive. I went from an older Thorens TD160 to a VPI Scout 2, both with a Dynavector 10X2 and it was a night and day difference. The VPI is far better isolated and the tone arm tracks much better. Both were expertly set up by my retailer. This is still a fairly entry level system but the retail cost right now is probably over $3k. Not including cables and the phono stage. 

I think it comes down to what YOU can afford, what YOU consider a major difference and is it worth the cost?.

My first TT was a record changer with a ceramic cartridge. I made a brush which I taped to the end of the arm and it made what I considered to be at that time a major difference. The brush seemed to hold the cartridge which had more high frequency, air. Eventually I ended up with a Sota, separate arm MC cartridge which costed $3,5000.00  in 1992 dollars.

The improvements  I believe were less major but the total increments although slight are wonderful, in imaging. So in the end you'll end up living with it.

Also all the eventual choices and decisions in choices of turntables, arms, cartridges. cables, ect. ect. good luck make it fun and be happy with YOUR decisions!

I don’t really understand the folks on this thread who say a good turntable makes a difference.
 

Do you need to spend $100K? No, I guess about $3K should do the job.
 

FWIW, I have a VPI HW MK IV with SAM, a Sumiko Premier MMT arm, and a Koetsu Onyx. It’s been working for me for a couple of decades. 

Not saying you have to spend $100K or near on a turntable, but once you've heard an exceptional turntable setup on a suitable system it's apparent that there is much more to a fine table than just spinning at the proper speed. Analog playback is a system of accurately measuring the signal recorded in the groove and creating an electrical signal which accurately recreates it. There's a lot of technology involved in the process which has been refined over many decades. Just being more expensive doesn't necessarily equate with better performance but truly high end performance and being able to achieve it doesn't come cheap. Of course you can still enjoy a lesser system but once an elite performer is heard it's hard to go back.