What's the cost of an entry level vinyl setup?

Clio99, I was reading your hypothesis that a system built with scraps could sound awesome. If in reality it is scraps with a $10K+ speakers then I am not sure the point is as valid.

In his review of Rega's P5 and P7 turntables, Art Dudley said, "were I to recommend a turntable to a vinyl enthusiast who's new to perfectionist audio, it would be the P3, hands down—virtually regardless of that person's budget. And to the more seasoned audio enthusiast, who already has some familiarity with good analog gear but simply wants an easy way off the merry-go-round, the P9 is my equally easy choice."

I haven't heard the OP's Focal Chorus speakers, but from reviews it seems they have strengths that Rega turntables would complement. The P3-24 with factory-mounted Elys 2 cartridge should fit well into his system. His receiver has a phono input, so he wouldn't need a phono stage. At some point it might be interesting to compare the Rega Fono MM with the built-in stage to see if it's a worthwhile improvement, and the same with the TT PSU, but just the 'table and cartridge, at $1095 for the package, would be worthy of his system and could be all the turntable he ever needs.

They were far from $10k+ speakers and I'm still not sure I'm seeing the point.

In my analogy, I was taking into account what the OP listed as the price for his speakers plus sub (about $4k), and how that compared to the cost of his other components.

The total cost of the system I heard including cabling was $7k. It was #3 in my top 3 rooms at the show (Dehavilland and Salk Sound were #1 and #2).