For the very best quality, in terms of tone arm set-up.... adjust the counterweight with your carts n stylus on so that it floats perfectly horizontally, then set the dial to zero without moving the counterweight, and then turn the dial and counterweight to the recommended setting for your cart/stylus... usualy around 3/3.5 for an average cart i think. then get a blank vinyl (one sided tracks) put your anti skate to 0 and put the needle on the blank record. It should slide to the middle, then adjust bit by bit until it it stays where u set it on the vinyl, pitch up, pitch down, 33/45 make sure it doesn't move. this will mean when you play a track the needle will sit exactly in the centre of the groove, not pushing either side. this will also mean your needles shouldnt jump as much if they did at all. IMPORTANT make sure the smooth/blank side of the vinyl is totaly free from scratch's cos you don't wanna be tricked to thinking u have it stable when its sat in a scratch! Then adjust the the height of your tone arm so that the flat underside of your cart is parallel to the vinyl, this will mean that the needle is pushing or dragging in the groove = better sound quality and prolonged life of records (as do all these tweaks). use rubbing alcohol and cotton buds to clean your head shell connections and connections inside the tone arm, do it gently in a twisting motion so it polishes it a bit too. leave the alcohol to evaporate, you can also do the same with your phono connections but always make sure the alcohol has evaporated first. and voilà! All done on the turntable side of things! Also get some vinyl spray/groove spray and a lint free anti static cloth and give ur tunes a clean lol. as for amps and speakers just make sure ur amp is powerful enough wattage for the speakers but not too much, a little less is probably fine, that should prevent any distortion if your playing the music loud... generaly avoid clipping like the plague. Some studio monitors would probably be your best bet as they don't colour the sound and make sure u have a good amp aint all dusty n shit inside lol
That covers the turnable side of things