How good was the late 80's Pioneer PL-516 table ?

[Smokey Lynx]

I bought a Pioneer PL-516 turntable at an estate sale as-is for $10 some time ago and after replacing the rotted belt , spraying De-Oxit in the pitch control and putting a new Shure 97 cartridge in , it sounds pretty darn good . There does seem to be a VERY small amount of hum that disappears when I set the tonearm to the record surface though . I don't know where this model table fit in Pioneers' product line when it came out in the late seventies, but I wondered how it compares with the Music Hall 2 and Rega 1 entry level turn tables of today ?
I'm thinking of upgrading to something better but don't know how far off this unit is from what is available today in decent sounding TT's before getting over $500 . Any comments certainly welcome .
I use a Bellari tube phono preamp into a Jolida Tube amp .
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[ampegdan]

I have a 518 which is the direct drive version. I really like it. If you're putting the arm down with your hand and that's when it hums I'd say it's a ground problem. Check the wires on the back of the headshell, particularly the blue and green ones, which I believe are the grounds. Also make sure the unit's ground wire is connected to the receiver. If it's the old silver unit (and I don't think they used the number on the black series) I'd hang onto it.

[Detailman]

I've also got a 516 and I agree that it does a nice job.
Not the prettiest thing but sounds a lot better than it should.
I like it better than my Dual.
If you do any tweaking you can go in under the platter and remove the metal cover and get at the two small circuit boards.
There about 6 or 8 capacitors that are easy to change and make it even more stable and better sounding.

[Smokey Lynx]

Thanks for your comments guys , I did notice when installing the new Shure 97 cartridge that the leads look pretty dry and candidates for replacing with new ones . That's something I'll probably tackle in the near future . There is a typo in my original post as I think the 516 is a late seventies model and not late eighties vintage as I accidentally wrote .