$ 2500 -- Best Way to Spend It Today ?

No matter what table, arm, and cartridge you go for, a VPI record cleaning machine will do more for your enjoyment than any other purchase. It's amazing how much better a clean record sounds on any tt.

+1 for the record cleaning machine.

If you can, audition different tt's. You might like the Marantz TT-15 setup, which is made by Clearaudio and is around $1500 including a good cartridge...you might also like Rega, VPI, a used Basis, Michell, etc. Turntables can sound very different from one another, regardless of price point.

I'm really enjoying all your ideas, and am learning quite a lot. Thank you all very much. Let's keep those creative juices flowing, and keep the ideas coming in. It's wonderful being part of such and active and knowledgeable audiophile community.

Yes, the Technics SL12x0 series could make a good platform, as it's quiet, precisely and ruggedly built, and spins the platter very accurately.

Les_creative_edge's suggestions are good, but are even more affordable than the prices he mentions. If you buy from KAB USA, the SL1200 is $475; fluid damper is $150 and tonearm rewire is $169. That's about $784. The Denon DL-160 is $180 and the Sumiko headshell can be had for $40, so that's $40 less as well. And the Cambridge 640P is only $169 and I agree with him that it's a great phono front end at the price (and then some).

That's the rig I have and I really like it. I had to upgrade my speakers to get a better handle on how much the AT150MLX and 640P increased the resolution and frequency extension.

Another way to go is to start with an SL1210 M5G so you don't need the tonearm rewire. You can also save money by getting brass cones from Parts Express for about $25, and a cutting board for $25-50 instead of a Mapleshade $150-250 maple plank.

All these approaches compromise the performance very little if at all, and save quite a bit of money.

I would say, however, that if you get an SL12x0 with fluid damper, tonearm rewire, and Sumiko headshell and you're going to run it into the Cambridge 640P, to spend an extra $70 and get the Audio Technica AT150MLX cartridge instead for a mere $70 more at $250, and the stylus is replaceable at $179.95, same price as replacing a DL-160. I have an SL1210 M5G with fluid damper, Sumiko headshell, and Cambridge 640P, and with this rig you will easily notice the improvement in frequency extension, detail, separation, and trackability the AT150MLX has to offer.

Another approach might be to get an SL1200 mk2 ($475), the Origin LIve Technics armboard (about $90), and an RB300-compatible tonearm. This could be anything from an unmodified OL-1 (rebadged RB250 for $240) to a fully-modded OL-1 ($800), or an Origin Live Silver ($1050). With the Silver you'd be up to about $1600. I'd still get the AT150MLX and the Cambridge 640P. That still just about leaves enough money for a VPI record cleaning machine, Or, you could get a bundle of microfiber cleaning cloths (about $10 for a bundle of 25 at Sam's Club), a quart of good record cleaning fluid, and the Walgreen's Perfection Steamer to clean used records (about $30) and spend the remaining $300-400 on LPs (yahoo!).

I bought a P5 not long ago and love it - go for that and spend the rest on a cleaning machine (the cheapest Nitty Gritty is good enough, if you don't mind turning it by hand) and records! Happy listening!