A turntable?

I have an old Goldring cartridge on an old Dual 1264 hooked up to an old vintage Yamaha cr-420 receiver and it sounds absolutely phenomenal

It is in my second system driving Triangle Titus 202s and an old M&K sub.

This whole rig could probably be had used today for under $1000 if you could find all the pieces in good condition and sound-wise it leaves little to want for most.

A Dual table and similar Goldring cartridge to go with it alone could probably be had for just a few hundred.

I think I am the only person who thinks the rega is overated and dull. Just get a semiautomatic prefrably directb drive from Denon or similar. It is a good match for your Pioneer.
Or get a MMF-5 by Music hall used the oroginal one, the new ones are overpriced . I have had mine for over 5 years it is just fine. I fell prey to buying a somewhat more costly "audiophile but entry level" VPI Scout.
I own about ten no joke linear trackers that I became obsessed with but they are finicky and all develop some mechanical problem so don't. On top of that they sound just okay at best, unless you buy a mint revox wih a great cartridge which people just give away 9 extreme sarcasm LOL or maybe just go for a real nice table to avoid the upgade pain and get a Walker Proscenium for just few dollars more.I thnk he has a sale on them for about $40,000 with the usual upgrades cabling valid points special mass loaded rack speed controller power distributor and some thing I must have missed.
In reality all tables sound only as good as the cartridge and the bsonics are highly dependent on which one you choose. My very real not joking suggestion for the The best underated table is the circa 1978 Yamaha solid wood plinth YP series.t is simple band sounds great. Again the one to look for is the YP series make sure it has a newish cartridge and they sell for under 50 bucks. Honest

Among the budget tables, it is very hard to beat the Regas. IMO they are quite a bit better overall than Project and Music Hall tables, especially in the areas of soundstaging and imaging. Many Rega dealers will give you a great deal on a Rega cartridge if you purchase it with the table, so that's another plus. My Bellari VP129 phono pre matches well with my Rega P5, so I would recommend that as well.

A package will not come with a phonostage but your Pioneer has one. If you decide for some reason to get a modern amp you will more likely than not need buy a phonstage . The way to avoid nuying one is to make sure the amp is an integrated or preamp with the typically more expensive version with a phono stage. If you stick with anything made before 1985 or there about it will always have a MM phono at least.

Thanks for all the help. What are the pros/cons of MM or MC? I actually have my eye on some older TT's Denon DP-59/60 series. I recognize that certainly 30 years worth of technology is a plus to getting a Music Hall, Rega or project but does it really matter?