P1,2,3: the best Rega for the job

The biggest differences here are the arm, platter, and motor (power capability). The P3/24 has a substantially better arm than the P1. I think it's worth the price difference alone. You can also upgrade the power supply to the feedback circuit TTPSU.

My take is that if you are at all tweaky, you're going to be upgrading the platter to the glass one, the mat, and maybe the arm wiring. There now you're at the cost of the P3/24. The P5 gets you a slightly better plinth and the same basic arm & wiring with a machined vs. molded base. The P7 and P9 are where it gets really interesting.

I also don't think any of these will outclass the Mira phono stage.

I had a P3/24 and think it's a great value, and excellent performer.

To add to what Cjnolan said, the P5 does has a better arm than the P3-24, the RB 700 as opposed to the RB 300. It is definitely a step up, IMO. But it is also perhaps out of your price range. If you want to get a starter table, I would go with the P2. Most Rega dealers will give you a deal if you like the sound and want to trade up from there. The Projects and the Technics didn't particularly wow me, either, so I hope you enjoy the Rega. It will give you much better soundstaging and imaging than those other two brands, for sure, and better resolution of instrumental and vocal timbres.

Thanks to all; lots of food for thought. The P5 is out of scope until I have at least its price invested in vinyl. Until then, a couple of you seem to have faith in the P2 and nobody has suggested the P3 is more than this beginner needs.
A thread at vinyl engine makes an interesting comparison between the Elys and a Denon 110. The guy thought they were more or less equals, except in the bass where the 110 triumphed...until he properly isolated his table, then he said no question in favor of the Elys. The point of this is not to start a Denon/Rega cart debate but to say that his post suggests one could do much worse than trying the P3 with Elys, especially if one doesn't care to learn the art of cartridge installation any time soon. The P2/Bias is intriguing for the same reason but I don't know that I've ever heard of anyone really liking the Bias. Carry on!

I now have the Rega P3-24 with the Rega Exact II cartridge, and I recently added the Rega TT-PSU power supply. For many years before this, I was very happy with my NAD 533 table and Goldring Elektra cartridge. The NAD 533 is a re-badged Rega Planar 2, and I really enjoyed it. However, to my ears, in my room, with my system.....the Rega P3-24 sounds better in every way than my old set-up.

Just my two cents, but if you can afford the P3-24 now, you can add the TT-PSU later on, and then you'll have a truly terrific analog front end. Good Luck, and Happy Listening !!

And now, the cartridge!

Through a fortunate turn of events, I now have a P3-24 on the way for what it would've cost me to drive the hundred miles to my nearest Rega dealer, pick up a P1, and buy me and my wife a decent meal.

Now...I need a cart. I have an AT 440mla from a previous experiment, but I don't want to install a spacer and this cart is supposed to be really sensitive to VTA. So I'm looking for something that would do good with my fledgling setup skills and no VTA adjustment. LPGear says great things about the Grado Gold on a P3-24, supposedly Grado hum is a thing of the past with the new Rega motors. I'd like to try a Black or maybe a Blue based on all the good and relatively few negative things I've read about Grado carts.

The Ortofon 2M red is another obvious choice but I see as much printed against this cart as for, plus I'm not sure about VTA, though otherwise mounting would appear a no-brainer.

Last is the AT95e which a nice fellow at Music Direct said he wouldn't steer me away from. Nor would the P3-24 review at Stereotimes where Mr. Paul Szabady concluded that it wouldn't make sense to spend more on a cart until the table was properly isolated with a better mat and powered by a TT-PSU.

What would you guys do for a Ben Franklin or less?
Thanks!