Advice for a new analog system

I would say, there are probably two schools of thought.  Start low and move up.  Or start high and stay there.  In college I had the VPI Scoutmaster, it was a messy ordeal.  I never was able to get good sound out of it.  I sold it before I graduated and didn’t think about vinyl for years.

Then I thought about going back into it but I didn’t want the same experience.  So I consulted with my audiophile friends and I decided, go all in.  Bought the Avenger Ref (this was a couple years before the DD Avenger came out)… and never looked back.  Moved from Rogue Ares to Zesto Andros and now Arc Ref 10 phono.  The analog side is without lack.

You can have a very nice analog set up for much less than that and have plenty left over to start a massive lp collection.

I’d say get yourself an Avid ingenium, a Music Hall mmf 7.3 or 9.3, a technics gr or g, a linn lp12 Magik, a new thorens td 1601 or td 124 dd, etc....listed pretty much in order of cost....for the phono preamp get a pro ject tube box ds2, a new ifi phono3, a tavish design classic or vintage, an Ear 834p, a tavish design Adagio,...cartridges would include the shure m97xe, ortofon 2m Bronze or black, the Hana el, the ortofon quintet blue or Bronze, a shelter 501, etc...just to name a few...grab yourself some nice Atlas phono cables or maybe cardas...any combo of all the above would not even come close to 60k and yet would all sound spectacular.

I personally own the music hall mmf 7.3 with ortofon 2m Bronze, the Avid ingenium plug & play, the thorens td 240-2 fully automatic with ortofon om10, and the technics mk7 with shure m97xe....all sound great. My phono preamp are the tavish design classic with nos tubes (rca, Sylvania and GE). I also use a Graham slee Era Gold v, and a musical fidelity lx lps...all great phono stages. For SUT’s I have both the Rothwell and the Jensen for my moving coil which include both the Hana el and ortofon quintet blue. Invest in a good turntable wall shelf and record cleaning machine such as the record Dr V. Also buy a good 10x eye loupe, a stylus brush, and good anti static record sleeves from sleeve city. 

My next purchase will be the thorens td 1500, $2999, but can be had below 2k if you buy over seas...it's received great reviews all over and is the revived thorens td 150 of yesteryear. Comes with ortofon 2m bronze....it's a steal. 

Doesn’t sound like budget is much of a concern. 

@ftrot 

You have an amazing core system right now, and I'd love to be in your position as you go on your vinyl journey.  You have gotten some great advice from Members who are much more knowledgeable than myself -- all I can add is the recommendation to soak up their words of wisdom like a sponge.  Please keep us updated, or send me a message once you have put together your vinyl system.  I'd love to see pictures of your layout once it is set up.

I like your "go big or go home" approach, but I do agree with @jasonbourne52 regarding spending such a large amount of money from the get-go on your first vinyl system.  There are SO many mistakes that can be made when trying to put together an "end all" high end vinyl system (synergy between components, the detail of sound, vibration or noise issues, and simply the ease of use), unless you have the ability to truly have a "no obligations" trail test period in your home with the gear you choose, you could end up taking a sizable loss when you go to replace items because the sound just isn't right.

I might add these brands as some tables you may want to also consider: the Dr. Feickert Firebird / Deluxe 12 Package with the Tri-Planar U12 Tonearm; the AMG Viella 12; the TW-Acustic Raven; and finally, the Rega P10.

Third school of thought. 

Wake up from this crazy dream!