Considering this beginner system

I looked at the Project debut 3, seems to come highly recommended, I think I'll listen to both before I decide. Am I right in thinking a MC cart will give me a more detailed sound? I read that you can replace MM carts yourself but MC carts have to go to the manufacturer. Is that true?

 

Yes, MC has the coils (and therefor also the signal wires) attached to the stylus/cantilever assembly, so it becomes specialist work to replace a worn stylus (through a manufacturer exchange program or a re-tipping service). With MM, there's normally a user replaceable stylus assembly that you can buy.

That Denon amp won't handle MC (except for High Output MC, like the Denon DL-110 for example), so I'd concentrate on MM for now. What matters most in a cartridge is the quality of the stylus (diamond tip). A Rega Carbon won't cut it here, I'm afraid. You'll have to move up a bit to get a good vinyl experience. (Think Denon DL-110, Ortofon 2M Blue/Bronze, Audio Technica 120E/440MLa ...)

 

In the UK I would snap up QED 79 strand speaker cable. Very good cable very reasonably priced

 

Added this to my hit list. Thanks Nate

 

Thanks for all your help guys. I think I've made up my mind:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GR32X...TF8&colid=36CKECLOAXF03&coliid=I29LLA45ORLKCK

Buying it all bundled from this Amazon Seller means that I can get a Marantz PM6005 amp and I'm only paying £70 more than if I bought everything separately and went for the Denon amp. Comes with the QED 79 Strand speaker cable included. I decided on the Q Acoustics 2020i speakers over the Dali Zensor 1's as well.

As soon as I complete on my new flat I'm hitting the 'order' button!

 

Enjoy! Let us know how it goes and what you hear.