Was your first cartridge relatively expensive?

The Scoutmaster is an excellent choice, just go listen to one for yourself and see if you really enjoy what you are hearing. If I could do it all over again (analog that is) I would just listen to a few systems in some local stores, bring a pile of my LPs and really not one of them should let you down unless the record is worn. If it does than the system isn't worth it period. Start your search again, eventually you'll hit audio nirvana. If it costs you a little more than save your bucks and don't skimp. On the flipside it may not cost you much at all.
A good shop should have plenty of tables to listen to. Start cheap, listen and then move up. Once you hear their "best" then go back and have another listen to the entry level player. You will then hear the differences.
Happy hunting.

gee, I dunno guys, I have to give a dissenting opinion here. My advice would be to get the cheapest stuff possible (used) within a given level of decency. No plastic TT, and an arm that at least allows VTA adjustment. For example I started with a Thorens TD165 for $100, stock arm, and a $40 Ortofon cartridge. Oh, and a $15 Radio Shack phono stage about the size of an Altoids box, battery powered.

Damn but that sounded good. Thick, if you take my meaning, compared to my $3000 digital player. Sure it wasn't perfect, but at the price point I didn't expect it to be.

Hence, I was not disappointed, I was intregued. Now, thousands of dollars and many upgrades down the road I am in hog heaven.

On the other hand, I know guys who plunked down serious ching on VPI Scouts, hot rodded arms, carts, and high buck preamps and they went, 'yeah, this is nice' but it didn't infect them like my $200 setup infected me.

Gadfly: to be fair I'm not sure whether analog is better than digital. These are two different modalities so comparing them is like comparing apples with pears. I think both have their strengths and weaknesses. It is also not very logical to strive for an "analog like sound" in digital or an "digital like sound" in analog. But this discussion belongs to another section (of the forum).

I, too, am unable to offer an informed comparison between those two tables, though I believe member Oakiris has the Teres/Mørch combination you've mentioned; perhaps she'll chime in. I just bought a Teres 160 and have it almost running (the motor I received seems to have been damaged during transit, so I'm waiting for a replacement), though I'll be using it with an Origin Live 250 arm. (I can get back to you on how this setup sounds in a month or two.)

I chose the Teres after some dealer auditions (for what that's worth) of both the GyroDec SE and the VPI Scout (*not* the Scoutmaster, which I haven't heard). I thought the Scout, at least in the context of the system I heard it in (which I don't recall at this point except that speakers/electronics were fairly "budget," and that the table included VPI arm and Grado Platinum or Sonata), was underwhelming. The Michell, in a far more expensive setup (including SME V arm) was impressive. I've read a handful of claims that the Teres 150/160 tables sounded much better than the GyroDecs they replaced in their systems. Take all this with the usual grains of salt, of course--my ears, my tastes, my experiences, etc. Rushton's point is a good one.

To answer your original question, I think that, no matter which table you decide on, purchasing a cheap cartridge (e.g., Grado black) to learn how to set it up is a wise move. You won't feel so bad if you bend a $40 cantilever. Such a cartridge won't be as sensitive as some for, say, changes in VTA, but will at least give you the chance to learn how to fiddle with the various settings.

Joshua

I might take up your idea of getting a Grado Black just to try things out and keep use it when I need to break in analog gear in the future. I would love to hear comments about the Teres 160. I'm still undecided.