What's a good beginner turntable at $2500+- range?

Sufentanil,

Thanks for the info. I still recommend the Sumiko headshell--it's about 4-5 g heavier than the stock Technics headshell, but it's also more rigid and the headshell wires and clips are of much better quality ($20 by themselves as near as I can tell). The Sumiko also has adjustable azimuth, though that's probably less critical with a conical stylus.

I too have my damper fluid at 1/3. 60% full (with the Denon DL-160) was definitely overdamped, but at 1/3 I feel I got the best of everything.

Just remember that $$$ is no indicator of sound. Go with what your ear tells you, not the price they want you to pay...

I have the fluid damper coming- I'm curious about the difference with my Goldring 1042 -on stock headshell. I am stilling dialing in the table, and I must say it is fun playing with- unbeleivably solid feel to all the moving parts/peices and a gorgeous metal flake finish deck. Overall very impressive so far. It's going to be some time to get the sound where it should be.

Based on your system, I would search out a used Michell table. I've heard the Gyro SE Mk II both on Avalon speakers and through Ayre electronics, although not at the same time. It sounded excellent both times though. It provides a pacy, musically involving combination with that equipment and won't stand out as lacking in any particular area.

With respect to the Technics, I don't think that its strengths mate particularly well to those of the equipment that you have. Given that you enjoy CD's through a Wadia, you likely prefer an open sound, that tends to be more the hallmark of sprung/hung turntables in my experience (eg, Michell, Oracle, Linn, but not current VPI, Basis, Technics). Of the sprung tables, the ease of setup and price range of Michell should be right in your crosshairs. If you can swing it though, that Oracle turntable is great too.

Mmike84, you say that you want to spend roughly $2500 for the turntable, without considering the cartridge and such.

My suggestion is that you create an "analog system" budget, and let us provide input on all components involved: The turntable, cartridge, and phono preamp. None of these can be considered in isolation, and you may be very disappointed if you improperly mate a cartridge to a particular tonearm, or get a phono preamp with insufficient gain for the given cartridge. Just as with the rest of audio, synergy is important. And don't forget the record cleaning machine.

Is this your first attempt at an analog system? If so, maybe you want to try borrowing a turntable from a trusted dealer and give it a shot. In either case, having an expert able to teach you how to set up the turntable will be important, as a properly set up "less expensive" turntable can outperform an improperly set up "expensive turntable". On that note, you want to consider with each of these turntables how difficult it is to adjust the VTA or the tracking force, for instance. (That's something I love about my Technics compared to my prior turntable.) And you'll need to know how your personality will mate with the turntable, ie, do you have the patience to spend hours at a time trying to adjust the turntable with a very difficult mechanism?

You've asked for suggestions for a turntable only for a particular price; I'm just suggesting that it might be more accurate to consider asking for an entire analog system at a particular price.

Michael