There's probably not a "best." It's a matter of what compromises you're willing to have at the $400-700 (+ cartridge) price range.
A local store stopped carrying Music Hall TTs, citing motor reliability. Pro-Ject 'tables are also made in the same factory in the Czech Republic. They prefer the Rega P1, P2, and P3 in your price range for reliability and upgradability.
I myself am smitten by my Technics SL 1210 M5G. I got it for $500, the cost of a P2 and significantly less than a Sota Moonbeam, Pro-Ject RM-5, MMF-5, or Rega P3. Unlike the Rega, the rotation speed is dead-nuts accurate with better wow, flutter, and rumble figures. In spite of the "audiophile press" assertions to the contrary, it's a very quiet table and I can't hear any motor noise, even with headphones.
It's certainly an old school arm, but the S-curve breaks up resonances and the detachable headshell makes cart mounting and changing a breeze. You can also bypass one cartridge-to-tonearm "joint" by getting an Ortofon Concorde all-in-one cartridge/headshell from http://www.kabusa.com.
And you won't touch the Technics' SL 12x0 series' durability, smoothness of controls, and build quality for under $2K.
Most of all, I like the way it sounds. It has no trouble sounding better than my CD/SACD players, it's rhythmic and involving with lots of pace and slam combined with decent microdynamics (certainly better than CD) and inner detail.
Taking pains to get this 'table acoustically/vibrationally isolated pays off big sonic dividends.
A local store stopped carrying Music Hall TTs, citing motor reliability. Pro-Ject 'tables are also made in the same factory in the Czech Republic. They prefer the Rega P1, P2, and P3 in your price range for reliability and upgradability.
I myself am smitten by my Technics SL 1210 M5G. I got it for $500, the cost of a P2 and significantly less than a Sota Moonbeam, Pro-Ject RM-5, MMF-5, or Rega P3. Unlike the Rega, the rotation speed is dead-nuts accurate with better wow, flutter, and rumble figures. In spite of the "audiophile press" assertions to the contrary, it's a very quiet table and I can't hear any motor noise, even with headphones.
It's certainly an old school arm, but the S-curve breaks up resonances and the detachable headshell makes cart mounting and changing a breeze. You can also bypass one cartridge-to-tonearm "joint" by getting an Ortofon Concorde all-in-one cartridge/headshell from http://www.kabusa.com.
And you won't touch the Technics' SL 12x0 series' durability, smoothness of controls, and build quality for under $2K.
Most of all, I like the way it sounds. It has no trouble sounding better than my CD/SACD players, it's rhythmic and involving with lots of pace and slam combined with decent microdynamics (certainly better than CD) and inner detail.
Taking pains to get this 'table acoustically/vibrationally isolated pays off big sonic dividends.