I'd like to buy a turntable system for my husband. I have no idea where the technology has gone is at since we last turntable we purchased was in the 70s. I'd like to keep the cost for turntable, amp, speakers under $1500. He's a guitar player and he has some electronic equipment for recording, etc... but nothing for listening. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hello and welcome to the group.
Most of your budget should be allocated on the speakers turntable and amp in this order with speakers and turntable being roughly equal in cost.
Looking at turntables, stay away from semi automatics and turntables equipped with USB. Go strictly manual as the money spent on developing and building goes primarily on the motor, tonearm, and plinth (base of the TT) and thats where it counts the most in terms of performance. Reputable entry level turntable manufacturers are ProJect, Music Hall, Rega, Orbit...there are a few more but I can't remember them all. I'm on my 2nd ProJect TT having lost the first one in a flood.
Speakers are a personal preference and are very subjective as no one hears exactly the same. Your best is to audition to get an idea of what sound you or your hubby likes. I would look at the following speaker manufacturers: PSB, Salk, Ascends, Philharmonic Audi. The last three are internet direct brands, the first goes through a dealership. Both my systems are built with PSB speakers. You can see my equipment list in my signature. Your options for 2speakers are full range towers or bookshelves + a sub woofer. My main system is built around towers while my secondary system is built around bookshelves and subs.
For amplification, you can go to an integrated amp, a 2 channel receiver, or an audio video receiver (AVR) . My pick would be a midlevel to top level AVR from 2 o3 three years ago from companies such as Yamaha, Denon, or Marantz. Just make sure they include a phono input. The reason behind an AVR is increased flexibility with bass management which is required for bookshelf+sub configurations. Its also cheaper than buying a dedicated integrated amp or stereo receiver. An AVR usually provides many more component inputs so you can expand your sources as well as allowing one to move to home theater should you choose too. I hope this helps;
My main system are the first three pics, the last two pics are of my secondary system.