Finally Lurked for 2 years, then bought......Rega
a Rega P-5 w/Exact II cart. and PSU controller. I've been "into" stereo since the 60's, but my equipment has always been low end due to $ constraints. Now that I can afford a bit better, I'm constantly amazed at what I hear. My speakers are Vandersteen 2ce signature, the "amp" is a Yamaha RX 2095 AV receiver - with a phono stage and a decent headphone output.
I've only been listening since last night, but I'm hearing a musicallity and a quickness and a rightness to the music that hadn't blessed my listening room before. I can now see why certain performances are far and away preferred to others. I look forward to break in on the cart and continuing explorations.
I thank those of you who shared your experience with Regas to an older audiophile who didn't want to tweak, just listen. I ended up with the right set up for me.
BTW, my BM dealer phoned me at 8:30 PM last night to make sure I was happy with the set up he'd done and that the music was flowing well.
Thanks, all,
Joe in Seattle