Upgrade My Turntable - How Much Do I Need to Spend?

You ask a good question. I think making a one step up to get the most out of the rest of your equipment makes sense.

If you buy a new turntable, preferably from a dealer, or in the case of VPI diect. You should receive it all ready to go and not need to touch it for at least 2,000 hours. So, what is that 3,000 albums.

To that end, i would look in the $5K range. This gets you into the audiophile range. I find that massive tables like the non-direct drive VPI are dead quiet with awesome bass and have a pretty low cost to sound quality ratio. Tables like Rega and Linn are more lively sounding. One of the advantages of Linn is you can get one in the $4K range fully equipped with cartridge or can upgrade one or two parts when you initially buy it, and then in the future upgrade all the way to their top of the line, one component at a time. But it is best to have a dealer assemble. On the other hand, if the cartridge is already mounted a turntable like VPI Prime and Aries are incredibly simple and are unsprung so there are no adjustments.

I do not fiddle with turntables. I am a klutz and impatient. I buy from dealers. They set it up and make sure it is optimally performing and that is it.

For reference, here were last years recommended turntables from Stereophile. Lots are really expensive, but many of them offer more budget oriented options.

@hikerneil 

IMO, most onboard phono stages are ok at best.

Phono stages cost from $20 to $20k.  I don't think you have a reference phono stage tucked away in your Mac.

A good phono stage should also have a dedicated power supply, something an onboard stage won't have.

IMO, the phono stage is the most important component in a vinyl set up; everything has to go through it.  You can have the most brilliant TT/cart, and it will only sound as good as your phono stage.

For P8/10, I'd want a phono stage in the $2k range.  If you decide to throw a $2-3k cart on you new TT, at least you know the phono stage isn't a bottleneck.

I like simplicity - so I'd highly recommend a P8/P10 for simplicity.

Remember you have 3 main components in your analog chain 

1. Turntable (and that can be further delineated into table, power supply and tone arm)
2. Cartridge
3. Phono stage.

There's lots of excellent options - I went the P8 route because it was simple to set it and forget it and I could easily upgrade the cartridge/phono stage.

Have fun and good luck in your journey

If I were you I would take a look at $2,000 turntables from Rega, Technics, Pro-Ject and VPI and pick the one you like.  Then get one of the PS Audio phono stages.  They list for $3,000 but go on sale for $2,000.  Or you might find one used.  Your Ortofon Blue can be upgraded to a Bronze by simply changing the stylus and you can hold off on that until you need a new one, but the Bronze is a very worthwhile upgrade and in your situation is your best option for the money.  Back to the turntables for a minute.  All four of the recommended brands are good, are competitive with each other, you can't go wrong.  Trust your heart and pick the one that appeals to you.  Don't let anybody talk you into going against your instinct.

Further thoughts, take a hard look at the new Denon turntable.  I think it lists for about $2,500 and looks like a winner too.