Who LOVES their under $ 1000 table combination ?

I probably shouldnt post here since I DONT love my under 1,000 set up! But maybe some one could help me get a better sound without thrashing the whole thing...

I have a Denon 1800 TT with original marble plinth, it has the original arm (I read somewhere it is pobably better than the ubiquos rega 250 or 300 modded?) I have a Grado Platinum cartridge and a Counterpoint SA 5.1 preamp. (I think the preamp has some mods since it has the smaller bypass caps all over). I have a DIY wall mount with a sand box and 2" solid spruce wood base for the TT. A friend with good TT knowledge mounted the cartridge for me...

My Forsell-EAD 7000 III combination cd player absolutely kills it, it is not subtle even with my better Lps.

I have several MM AT cartridges I have tried and the sound is diferent but not really better..

So, how should I upgrade, the tonearm seems to be the guitly one I guess, maybe tonearm wire is to blame?

Cheers...

Can you give more info on what the "Denon 1800" is? Drive type? Era? Any pix online you could find?

I guess its an 80s direct drive TT with a strobe light and pich control, looks pretty serious, I will take some pics tomorrow and post them...

I also have a late Oracle Alexandria TT one of the latest models all balck pretty good looking, I will need a maintenance kit and a new tonearm...SME has been recommended (not a 3009) so I am looking at a 309 or an SME IV at least 1.5- 2k more for really the same cartridge and preamp!!!! I am not sure how much of an upgrade it will be...Maybe a Dynavector 20X MC-High output for an extra $650 wil help.... Make that almost 3K.

I Love my Micro Seiki MR611. I bought it 20 years ago for $AU350 and have only replaced belts and cartridges since (even the little light still works with the original globe!). It came with a Supex 900Super cart which I will get checked out soon for a retip, and a Grace F8 which I want to have checked too as it is old but rarely used. I now run an Ortofon MC15SuperII on it ($AU300) and run this through a Lehmann Black Cube Phono Stage (second hand for $AU250).

So, $AU900 and I love it. Mind you, I have discussed this model Micro Seiki with a guy on the Vinyl Engine who got his for free. There is one for sale at a second hand shop here for $AU550 which is still less than $1,000.

DS

I've found happiness with refurbished and slightly modded vintage. My Thorens TD150 MkII was free a few yeas back. Cleaned it up and applied several coats of oil-varnish mixture, put it on a walnut sub-plinth (I had this stuff on hand). Adding the cost of Mogami mic cable and Eichmanns for new interconnects, diy PC, new belt, modest dampening of the plinth, spikes, Hebie's mat, custom counterweight and outrigger for the TP13A arm, and a SoundSmith rebuilt Denon DL103 totals about $650. So far I've compared it to a handful of new plug 'n play rigs up to about the 2K range, and so far it's been no contest.

Jim