Mika, nice table, welcome to a new world of analog enjoyment. There are several excellent phono preamps in, or around your price range. I like the Rotel, there is a Parasound for sale today, though I have never heard one, and the Creek and Musical Fidelity ones are quite nice too, though they may strech your budget. If your budget is absolutely and totally fixed, and you can only spend $150.00 or so on both preamp and cartridge, I would recommend the Radio Shack phono preamp that costs around $35.00 and a better cartridge in the $100.00 range. That would be a Grado Red, Shure M97ed, Ortofon OM20 or Audio Technica AT440ml, in order of warmest to most detailed. My personal preference would be the Shure or Ortofon. If you are set on allocating your funds as described, the Grado Black, at around $40.00 is the logical choice. A new cartridge is an absolute necessity to preserve your budding record collection as a used cartridge may have a ragged stylus and damage the groove walls.
There are many free tweeks that you can try. A light, but solid stand is one. Removing the rubber ring that fits between arm and headshell is another. You can put a dab of rope caulk on the headshell or arm where it rings.
As far as setup goes. Start by folowing the manufacturers recommendations on tracking force and set anti-skating to match. You can tweek this by ear, but do not stray too far. A protractor will be necessary to determine where the cartridge will sit in the headshell. There is a free one to be downloaded from the net. Perhaps a kind member can direct you, as I forget the site. One can be bought for $20.00 or so, if need be.
Best of luck.
Marty
There are many free tweeks that you can try. A light, but solid stand is one. Removing the rubber ring that fits between arm and headshell is another. You can put a dab of rope caulk on the headshell or arm where it rings.
As far as setup goes. Start by folowing the manufacturers recommendations on tracking force and set anti-skating to match. You can tweek this by ear, but do not stray too far. A protractor will be necessary to determine where the cartridge will sit in the headshell. There is a free one to be downloaded from the net. Perhaps a kind member can direct you, as I forget the site. One can be bought for $20.00 or so, if need be.
Best of luck.
Marty