I’m looking to get my first turntable. I initially thought of getting the Fluance RT81+, but since I’m based in Europe this may be a complicated thing. I asked around and the Pro-Ject brand was suggested, so I looked "locally". And here I am, still undecided what to get between these 3 options. Here's what I've found (and my preliminary "noob" conclusion):

* Pro-Ject E1.2 (Pick it MM E cartridge) or Pro-Ject E1 + phono add-on (AT3600L cartridge): 360 euro
* Pro-Ject RecordMaster II: 298
* AudioTechnica AT-LPW40WN: 376

Runner ups:

* Rega Planar 1: 379 euro (new model with pre-amp) - but at this price point the AudioTechnica seems a better choice?
* Pro-Ject Essential III: 299 (with pre-amp) or 329 (with pre-amp + bluetooth) - but at this price point the RecordMaster II seems a better choice?

If possible, I'd strongly prefer wooden look. I'd be willing to compromise on other stuff (e.g. stylus) since I understand I could upgrade that at a later stage.

**Conclusions**:

I'm extremely new at this, so my conclusions may be wrong, but here's what I think would be a summary:

* The Recordmaster II seems to punch above its weight (plus it has a USB output which it's an interesting add-on)
* It seems that in terms of quality of cartridge, LPW40WN > RecordMaster/E1.2 > E1. I saw a video of someone comparing the sound of the LPW40WN vs the Essential III (which I understand has a slightly better cartridge than the RecordMaster) and the sound difference was too evident to ignore ([video here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpmZykS0T2c&t=1s))
* In terms of upgradeability (of cartridge/stylus),

 it's the same order LPW40WN > RecordMaster/E1.2 > E1

I'd say that in summary the **AT-LPW40WN seems be the best overall**, and the **RecordMaster II seems to be an excellent price/quality deal**.

So my question is: **do you think it's worth to spend the addigional 80 euro and 


Pro-Ject E1.2 vs Recordmaster III vs AT-LPW40WN ?