Advice and recommendations needed for a turntable rig...

Last year I purchased the X8 with an Ortofon Quintet Blue MC cartridge from a local dealer (I live in Austria where Pro-Ject is based). The TT/cartridge combination is offered as a package here, so everything was ready to go out of the box. I also went with the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B phono stage to take advantage of the balanced output option of the X8 (the DS2 does not have that option). Additionally, load impedance on the DS3 B can be set continuously via a potentiometer. Adjusting impedance during playback has been a fun feature to play with. I have tested RCA and XLR back and forth, and the XLR balanced connection through the DS3 B and my rig produces about a 6db gain with a lower noise floor. I am really happy with the X8/Ortofon/DS3 B combination. The table weighs 33 lbs and is very well made. I have not listened to the Sumiko Blue Point MC cartridge, so I cannot comment on the difference to the Quintet Blue (which is a low-output MC design). The 9cc EVO carbon tonearm has an integrated headshell, so if you are interested in swapping cartridges in the future, it will not be the easiest rig to manipulate.

You can buy a Pioneer PLX1000 for $700 and then spend more on a mc cartridge like a $1300 Hana. Herb Reichert gave the Pioneer a very positive review in Stereophile. I bought one to add to my TT collection and am very pleased with it!

I have an older Technics 1200 and the PLX1000 is at least as good in all aspects!

Before you buy anything, make sure you have a stable place to put it. I suggest placing half a glass of water in the intended spot and walk around. If the water wobbles, you will have an issue. Been there and it’s not fun to get your new table home only to have the arm skitter across the record if you look at it the wrong way. As far as what you buy, I really think you should consider it an experiment to see if you really want to stick with vinyl. Any of the regular players are fine. technics, project, whatever. Then in a year or 2, if you want to stay with it, you’ll have a lot more experience from which to choose an upgrade if you like. 

From my personal experience. Had MMF-5, my understanding Music Hall is sister company of Pro-ject using the same components, and was not impressed to say the least. Moved to Marantz TT15S2,by Clearaudio, very significant upgrade. Went through several phono stages and settled on QHW Vinyl, see review by M. Framer. Currently having Hana ML, overall I am very satisfied and settled in with this set up for a while, I think.