Welcome to the hobby. If $1500 is your combined budget for an amp & speakers, no sense in looking at a used VPI model higher than a new VPI Traveler at $1300. Also, being new to the hobby, I would strongly suggest new rather than used. A turntable is as much mechanical as it is electrical and you don't always know how gentle the previous owner was with it. Also, you may not have the skills to re-calibrate it.
That being said, I will not go into why you have such a high TT budget vs amp/speaker budget but will give you opinions in the two tables your looking at. I have a Pro-ject RM5.1 SE and at $1000 including the pre-mounted Sumiko Blue Point No. 2 cartridge, IMO it is the the best value package out there. You get a lot for your money. I would recommend adding the optional speed box (it really does tighten up the bass and makes changing speeds very easy) for another $160. Total cost $1160 and your done.
However, from what I have seen, heard and read of the VPI Traveler, this table is in a whole different league. Much better build quality and while I did not consider the sound quality any better (could have been the cartridge when I auditioned it), the feel and quality of the table was enough to make me want to upgrade to one. Without a cartridge, its $1300. Add a cartridge, its $1500 on up.
Thats my take on both. In your case, I think the Pro-ject would suffice given your overall budget and that it already comes with a cartridge. Good luck.
