Alternative platters ?

[twotone]

I hear ya Tony - Mike New bearing £465ish, ETP £650 aprox, (funk quoted £840 for one of their platters) then there's external power supply, cartridge, decent arm - Yep ! It's scary but in my experience worth it There are so many variables to be considered and it's not like these items are mass produced which would bring cost down.
Just go easy, dont try to do it all at once, enjoy the music and dont lose too much sleep !

I'm going for a arm upgrade, either a SH Jelco or a stock arm re-wire job. I can't see me going down the MC road but you never know which is why I'm veering towards the Jelco rather than stock re-wire.

After that though I'm done.