Diving back into analog...which turntable to buy

Well this is all discouraging,lol...I tried everything possible with the lp12 I had.I even had a table guy come in and do his magic as he stated before coming.Couldn't compare to my Esoteric player.Anyway I want to try this,my budget is a grand..Im seeking info on tables to consider new or used,thats all really.

Best you will find for 1K is Rega 3 which Needle Doctor
is selling for 716$ right now . A Goldring 2100 at 250 $
will sound very good on any kind of music and that puts you
at 966 $ .

I owned an LP12 for a few years and was fortunate in that I had it set up by probably one of the top 5 LP12 gurus in the nation. It sounded great but I got tired of the "persnickety" character of the table. But you need to consider the package as not just the table but cartridge, phone stage and cables are all crucial to maximize performance. And as mentioned the stand and placement all contribute to the quality of sound. I am not recommending that you re-invest in another LP12 but consider all the ingredients of the analog side of your system.

unless you have enough LPs I would just not do it.....

A used VPI table with the arm and carts that are often bundled with them. I bought a Scout with the 20X MC HO on the JMW memorial arm for $1800 new. If you can bargain and spend a little more it's a great set up. There areother les expensive VPIs you may want to investigate.