Beginner Turntable

New: Rega, Pro-ject or U-turn Orbit $200-500
Used: Technics, Denon, Pioneer or Yamaha $50-400

May have to skip the mini Denon system, probably has no phono preamp- get a used 70's vintage receiver with built-in phono amp. Better sound and power. $50-200

I built a nice used system for $90! - rotel receiver, technics TT and ESS speakers. Plan on spending a year stalking thrift shops for that kind of bargain. The audiophile snobs will say you need to spend $1000 on an entry level audiophile turntable - (cartridge not included) - but I'm talking true entry level/low budget/starving student.

Check out the Denon DP-29F,it comes with cartridge and a phono preamp. Needle Doctor sells it for $150.

You will need to buy a TT with a built in phono preamp to use with your Denon mini system.

These all come with a built in phono preamp and a pre-installed cart for easy set-up, plug and play capabilities:

$100.00 Audio Technica AT PL60
$150.00 Denon DP-29F
$240.00 Audio Technica AT LP120-USB
$250.00 Music Hall USB-1
$330.00 Denon DP-300F
$350.00 Marantz TT42P

Personally, I would start with the Music Hall USB-1 with a AT-95E cart for about $300.00. The AT-95E is a much better cart than the stock cart that comes pre-installed. Call Jerry at NeedleDoctor.com and he will advise you well.

Good luck and happy listening!

Thank you guys very much!
Currently, I have a budget of 500.

I have done some research about the TT, I'm thinking Technics AT-AP120, which is a reasonable price for a tt with phono preamp build in.
I'm also thinking about Pro-ject DEBUT CARBON or iii with a phono preamp, since I have a 500 budget :).

But I'm not sure whether the Pro-ject combination could fit with my mini system. Also, dont have a good tt and phono preamp setup yet.

Any way, I want to make the best value of 500, with 50 up and down(550 means I will have to give up meat and alcohol for next month).

Thank you again!

IME the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon stands head'n'shoulders above the competition at $399. It's simply stupendous at that price. It comes with the best cartridge of the entry-level turntables as well. Pro-Ject also offers their Phono Box MM preamp for $99, bringing the total to $498, $2 under budget. You'd be hard-pressed to equal this combo at that price, let alone do better.

I have about $1100 in my turntable rig, and I'd say the Pro-ject Carbon tonearm easily bests mine.