Help with a complete vinyl setup about $2,500

VPI Scout with JMW9 $1500
Shelter 201 MM cartridge $175
Phono preamp $500-$1000
Cables $300-$500
Disc Doctor brushes and fluid $60

The Scout JMW9 is an excellent setup that will allow you to upgrade up to the best cartridges over time. The 201 will do you very nicely until that first upgrade. It's an incredible cartridge for the price. If you buy a phono preamp that takes both MM and MC, you will be ready to upgrade up to the Shelter 501II cartridge without having to change anything else. Unless you are averse to doing a little manual work (about 5-10 minutes per record) to clean your records, the Disc Doctor rivals any record cleaning machine in terms of getting the records clean. The records that I've cleaned sound fantastic. The ultra-low cost relative to machines allows you to spend more on other parts of your system. The other thing I like about the Disc Doctor is that you can clean while you listen, while the machines will make so much noise that it's not possible.

I have the Scout with 201 and Kimber H-Tak cable going into an Audible Illusions M3A pre and CJ Premier 11A with Sonus Faber Elekta Amator II speakers. Sounds fantastic!!!

Wcheng: I agree. The Disc Doctor brushes and cleaning fluid are unbeatable. I use a Record Doctor II (basically a Nitty Gritty 1.0) to dry the records after a spraying with distilled water. I suppose if you're limp-wristed it's OK to spend $300-$500 for a 16.5 or 17 but your vinyl won't be any cleaner or sound any better. The money saved will buy a lot of music.

Rega P25 $1150 (Music Direct)
Benz Micro Glider L2 $579 (Needle Doctor)
Musical Fidelity XLPS V3 $395 (Music Direct)
RR LP9 stylus cleaning fluid $25 (Music Direct)

Total $2149 Then save up for a record cleaning machine. I had this setup to start with, very, very satisfying

Ridiculous limp-wristed references aside, (funny how bold people are with the personal comments when they are not face to face with someone, especially when they'd probably find themselves on their kiester otherwise) I like the DD stuff as a low-cost alternative when the budget is tight. However, in numerous trials, I find the Record Research Labs fluids largely superior to the DD in that vinyl washed using the DD fluids are rinsed using distilled water and either air dried or patted dry with a terry cloth. In either case, the distilled water, in my experience, has always left a bit of audible crackle behind. The RR fluids, on the other hand, generally always leave a dead silence, at least on records that are not damaged, and I rarely have to give a record another cleaning as I did with DD. While some may find satisfaction without using a vacuum machine, my comparisons have proved to be no comparison at all with my vinyl being both cleaner and sounding better (many having been previously cleaned WITH DD). A long time ago, I questioned the RR fluids and recall that Albert Porter threw down the gauntlet, as it were, and offered to send a few folks a sample of the RR fluids to use in a comparison to what they are using. I will return that favor to someone wanting to do an honest assessment in deference to the generosity of Albert (and no, I am not affiliated with RR nor am I a dealer). I also know that I went without a vacuum machine for sometime and could not go back after buying one. Oh, and I saved my McDonald's money to buy mine............

Good luck with your search, Dsiggia, I'm, sure you'll find something to be happy with.

Anytime tough guy.