I bought this Sony a year ago and have been pretty happy with it. It is belt driven and has a strobe and a slider on the right side to adjust the speed. I'm going to replace the cartridge that came with it in the near future but it has been adequate so far. It does not have a preamp like the Denon so keep that in mind. It is only $200 (maybe less if you shop around) so you could upgrade to a very nice cartridge and stay within your budget. From my analog days I was told to spend my money on speakers then the phono cartridge to get the best sound for the money. I think that advice is still true today.