Vintage or new turntable

I own, and have owned, both vintage and modern tables. If considering vintage, you will need an appropriate skill set to keep your turntable in proper operating order. A Thorens 124 or Garrard 301/401 would be nice, but if you don't feel comfortable working on a table, new would be best.

Thank you all for your thorough responses. I've contacted Dave at VinylNirvana and am leaning that direction. Having said that, I will get out and audition Clearaudio and hopefully others. I've been watching the VPI and SOTAs here on Agon, so it sounds like I'm looking at the right things.

bifwynne - I will check out your system and history. Thanks

A Sota Star or Sapphire, series III and above, can usually be found in your budget and is a great deal on a vintage table that can be upgraded as your budget allows.

Vintage is the way to go but only if you can do a pick up and the unit demo'd before purchase.

The good old ARXA is the most musical and satisfying vintage table. It is also very forgiving of mediocre recordings. You do need to couple it with a good modern arm for best sound. Not so easy unless you are a capable doer, but certainly worth the effort. Their later versions, like the ES1 are easier in this regard. I had non audiophiles begging me to play more records at the Christmas party. My young and lovely wife was trying to turn it down as they all booed her. Live Doors, Live Allman Bro's, Cannonball Adderly, Satchmo, Dizzy, Willy...we rocked! They could not believe A: that this was vinyl, and B: that I have been using this same turntable since the early seventies. One guy was one of my roommates back then and couldn't believe this was the same table we all used to listen to. I have a pricey Well Tempered, but, still, the AR always puts a smile on my face.