i'm digging this thread already. I also have a pile of Vinyl , some technics 1200's that I mainly use for dj/scratch stuff but also for just listening. I've also been looking into designing headphones and speakers. Look like I could learn a lot from @Matt . You have some good looking pieces. Here some headphones I have designed but haven't gotten into the real world yet:
Go to http://www.needledoctor.com They have a lot of budget carts and they are located in Twin Cities. I've owned many carts but most of them are not cheap by any means. The best i've owned was the Lyra Delos @ $1,650. It was unreal what the needle picked up. This is still considered a budget cart among the most expensive ones costing $10k.