Pro-Ject turntables

Ok, cool. What did you like about it, per se.

Notec; so what then is your advice if all the under-$1000 TTs are crap? And at what level does a turntable newbie start at?

The Orbit TT by U-Turn Audio

It was just easy to listen to. Nothing super hifi about it but it still had good sound stage and with that cartridge combination it delivered warm natural sounding vocals, which for me is pretty important since I don't listen to a ton of instrumental records.

That being said I was not a fan of their pairing with the stock Blue Oyster cartridge, or whatever it was. That cartridge with the carbon fiber arm was a little harsh sounding and lacked body.

Dear Notec,

The Orbit IS an ENTRY LEVEL TT that sells for $179.00

To quote you "Hi Fi entry level TT's are a pure waste of money"

I don't quite understand your reasoning Sir!

I'm a BIG fan of Rega tables and I cannot recommend the RP8 enough for $3,000.00 but I will throw in 3 other extremely reliable and well built brands/tables just for fun:

Acoustic Signature WOW for $1,600.00 w/out arm.
Well Tempered Amadeus for $2,850.00 w/arm.
Townshend Audio Rock 7 for $3,000.00 w/out arm.