Which TT Music Hall 5.1 or Rega P1 or P2

Notice that I said P3/24, not P3. This is the version that came out a year ago
and is upgraded in various ways from the P3. But the clincher for me is the
availability of the outboard power supply. There are other outboard power
supplies that can be used with any turntable but there is some advantage to
being able to interface directly with the DC motor rather than simply
condition the AC going to the DC power supply of the P3. The price of a used
P3/24 would just fit your budget. IME the Rega is different from and
competitive with the Technics, which is less money. I have not compared a
KAB modded unit though. The real comparison would be a fully modded KAB
Technics with a Rega P5 with outboard PS which would be about the same
amount of money. At that point there would still be other aftermarket
upgrades available to the Rega, for more money. If you got the P5 used you
could add some of those mods and still meet the price of the modded KAB
Technics. How they would compare is a very good question.

Dealer disclosure.

You've probably made your choice by now, but if you haven't, definately go for the Rega - WAY better soundstaging!

I have a six year old NAD 533 table with an upgraded Rega glass platter, RB-250 tonearm, and Goldring Elektra cartridge. This is baiscally a Rega Planar 2 set-up. It sounds absolutely wonderful through my Rogue Audio tubes and Vandersteen 1C speakers. I mostly listen to 1950-1960 small ensemble jazz (Miles, Coltrane, Morgan, Monk, Rollins, Brubeck, etc.), and the "musicality" of my analog front end is a pure joy.

I've listened to a friend's Music Hall 5.1, and thought the sound was "thinner," and not as engaging as with my NAD/Rega. If you haven't already made your purchase, I'd recommend you consider the Rega stuff. Good Luck and Happy Listening !!