My first Turntable... need some suggestions please

What about a phono preamp?

Rega Planar 2 or Planar 3, maybe used for $500. What gets pricy is a good moving coil pick up. After using moving coils I would never go back to moving magnet design, with the exception of the better grados. I like Benz Micro, but there are countless others. Yes, above post correct, you will need a really good preamp with phono equalization, like a Klyne, or separate outboard phono unit like benz pp1 or countless others. To stay under $500, gee that's tough.. maybe used Rega 2 with grado (watch out for hum) and used threshold/forte 2 (for 200-300$) pre.??

You might be able to find an older Rega P3 and couple it with a new Denon 103 cartridge for a total of about $500. Although I don't have experience with this particular combination, perhaps someone out there does and can comment. I used to have a P3 and liked it and alot of folks here feel that the 103 is an extremely good value. If the P3 and 103 are compatible, you might have great rig for little $$) Also, there are a ton of threads within Audiogon on choices in various price ranges, so you may want to search these for additional ideas.

For a good phono pre-amp on the cheap, there have been a number of positive comments about modifying two battery powered Rat Shack pre's, one for each channel. I don't know much about it but, again, search for the threads here on Audiogon.

Oh, BTW, I recall that there are a number of variations of the Denon 103, so be sure you know which one you need.

Regards
Jim