Ready to try vinyl

Wow, Nick Gowan at Truesound eh? Basically dismisses the usefulness of RCMs (almost specifically VPI and Nitty Gritty) overall but then endorses an expensive Clearaudio? Any agenda there? Glad he doesn't steer his customers wrong.

Understand that you must drop a bit of cash to get a turntable that will do the trick. The Rega 3 with a Dynavector was an excellent suggestion. Matching a TT and tone arm is a lot like matching amplifiers to speakers. A definite synergy is called for and deserves good research. There are so many ways to go and most of it all comes down to how much cash you are able spend on this venture.
If you buy something of quality used chances are you will not loose too much in the case that you fall in love with analog but want to move upscale. Considering the relative quality of what your other equipment is you might look at lending a TT from a dealer in the range that you ultimately would be willing to invest. The benefit here is that you get some support and at “no obligation” get to try some things and in the end you don’t undersell yourself on the analog and then walk away dissatisfied.
Understand where I’m coming from. I have had a Linn Sondek Lp12 with a Linn Ittok LVII tone arm since 1983 and have had nothing but excellent analog performance with little interest in changing decks. I have done a number of upgrades to the table over the years and imo it has kept it competitive. Are there better tables out now? Sure, I guess. Do I care? Not in the least.
Bottom line is I find vinyl superior in many ways and so do a lot of other A’goners. I would hate to see you miss out. As for the answer to your question… there are so many good or even great choices. It is going to take some looking and listening around on your part and a dollar figure in mind before you should jump imo. Best of luck. Enjoy!

If it were me, looking back I would get the VPI Scout (I didn't have the money at the time, so it wasn't a possiblity) because it's something which you can upgrade if you choose (scoutmaster...superscoutmaster, etc.), but is truly stellar in its stock form. Don't get me wrong, I love my MMF-7 and you wouldn't at all be sorry buying one, but if you _do_ have the cash to spend and _do_ decide you wan't to get into vinyl (which is a decision that shouldn't be taking lightly, otherwise you have a very expensive paper weight on your hands, not to mention a hundred or so expensive frisbees) then I think the Scout has great longevity than the MMF-7. And all this coming from an MMF-7 owner. Anyways, I'm sure people are sick of my terribly long-winded and tri-fold resonses.

cheers.

Music Hall MMF-7. Get a used one. Enjoy....................

Thank you one and all. You have all been extremely helpful.
What I have learned so far.....price of a quality mid level TT.....about 2000.00.....advise on Audiogon......priceless!
I am looking at the recommended TT's and trying to decide new or used. Which brings me to one last concern....are the stylus and the cartridge one and the same? Can you replace one without replacing the other? How often do these items get replaced due to wear?( let's say listening on average 10 hours per week) I would not want to buy a used TT and then have to buy new stuff just to make it sound like it is supposed to. Seems to make a good case for buying new. Waddya think?