I suggest that you get the Music Hall MMF-1.3 turntable, which includes a good cartridge and dust cover etc.

It is only $299 from Needle Doctor, and is pretty much Plug and Play, and will sound quite good for the money.

The Project Phono Box MM phono preamp is $80, and will do a very good job.

You will be well within your budget, and of course could upgrade the phono cartridge or preamp at some later date if desired.

pianopictures wrote:

Hi,

Not an audiophile here, can't really afford to be one.

I'm a musician and audio professional, can really appreciate a good audio quality, but at the same time after being around it all the time I became less "impressed" over all.

My mother has a huge collection of classical vinyl records which she gathered long ago, used to be played on some lo-fi average turntable (all inclusive device), which is hardly operateable right now.

I want to get her something nice and new. I may also find myself involved in it as a new hobby.

I don't have "the rest of the chain" actually. The turntable will be connected to an active semi-full range entry level speakers with built in volume control. At least for now, but there is always a chance for upgrade at some point.

I'm thinking about something like Pro-Ject Essential III or Rega P1. I need something with a built in phono stage or I need to buy the external one.

The overall budget is about $500.

I'm curious what is the best money/value combo could it be.

I'm still able to go quite significantly higher in price if being convinced so.

Would greatly appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

Andrei

I just replaced the belt on my MMF-7, which is similar, after 10 years or so of use; it was starting to get limp but still working.
They are available at a number of places, including lpgear and Audio Advisor, and cost around $20 or so.
Belts are available for turntables that have been out of production for 50 years; you can get them for almost anything ever made.

pianopictures wrote:

Thank you! It looks great, and even has a built in phono stage. Maybe mmf-1.5 then?

http://musichallaudio.com/new-mmf-1-5-turntable/

It also will be within my price range, has a phono built in too. May I ask about the belt, how long does it serves, will it be a problem to find a replacement if anything happens? Say, the model is out of production?