If you do try to set it up yourself remember that the wires to the cartridge are extremely fragile and it is very easy to pull a wire out of the arm tube as well as to pull off a little metal clamp that attaches to the cartridge. The fact that many modern arms have affixed headshells only makes this more difficult.
Buying a new table from a dealer makes sense for an inexperienced person given the price of cartridges that are considered excellent.
Buying a new table from a dealer makes sense for an inexperienced person given the price of cartridges that are considered excellent.