Analog under 2k?

I don't know anything about the Modwright unit at all.

The Audio Note TT is a "clone" of the old Ariston Systemdek, which is a pretty nice TT. But it is not in the league with the Teres or Nottingham.

You state you have access to an EAR.
Does this mean you can buy it relatively cheaply or that you have a buddy who will lend it to you?

The EAR is a fairly decent entry level phono preamp. If you can either pick it up cheaply (or better yet, borrow it for a bit), you can try it out, make sure you want to stick with analog (and all the trials and tribulations that it involves) before you move on to something bigger and better. (I have not been so enthused about listening to music in about a decade, since I got my turntable.)

FYI: Since I have gotten back into Analog, I have noticed that there seems to be a faily constant urge to upgrade the system as every little change, tweak, mod, etc., appears to add just a little bit more to the enjoyment of the music. (Not that this is a bad thing, but it does involve money, which is a limiting factor, at least in my case.) Therefore, you might want to start off slow and work your way up to the level you want. I do this by buying, using and selling "used" equipment, rather than new as the depreciation of analog equipment seems to be rather large. (I seem to be able to buy very well cared for analog equipment for about half price. Which is a good thing, as it is starting to run into thousands of dollars.)

Good Luck in your pursuit of audio nirvana.

Joe,

I tried building you a Teres-based rig and couldn't quite see how to do it on your budget. So I started thinking about a Nott' Horizon, as Inna suggested. Then Twl's post showed up.

As usual, he's nailed it. He even got you a wood base, which reportedly sounds far better than acrylic. I can't imagine a better sounding rig for this money. If you're willing to deal with the maintenance and hassles of LPs you will be pleased and thoroughly astonished. That Music Hall CDP may soon be gathering dust.

Some people say the Denon's are the best cartridges made for <$800 so go for that if you can. The 103R is meant to be the best of the line, assuming it's still available.
You may have to order that model directly from EIFL in Japan.

Inna's objection to the arm/table cost ratio makes sense on paper, but the detailed reasons Twl gave for these particular selections are spot on. Thanks to his help I have a similar imbalance, $820 arm on a $3700 table, and they play stupendously. Go for it.

I thing the upgrade-itis Kurt describes is far more prevalent and costly with digital than with analog. At least with analog a genuine musical satisfaction is possible. At some point you may find it, many people have on budgets lower than yours. A lot of people, myself included, will never find satisfaction from redbook CD regardless of how much we spend. People on that track go all the way up to $25K dcs rigs and beyond in search of "analog-like" sound, and still don't find it. That's a far more serious danger to one's finances, not to mention one's musical satisfaction.

$820 arm on $3700 table is not the same as $200 arm on $1700 table.If he does that he'll want to upgrade to Origin Silver arm very soon.If not,then he does not need $1700 table anyway.I still think that not much used Nottingham Spacedeck with Spacearm would be a better and much more balanced choice; and Interspace deck/arm probably too. Rega is Rega,don't expect much unless you replace just about every part of it,and even after that.I would also consider new Nottingham Horizon with Origin Silver arm,both new, though I have not heard this combination and not sure if you can buy this table without that Rega arm.Personaly, I would not be operating with $2000 for the analog set-up if I wanted to buy new; it is either too much or too little.$2500-$3000.Better save on something else,really.

OK, but if I go 3k, am I better off with a Teres or a Hyperspace with Space arm? There's one here for 2900. Then all I need is a good cartridge.