Hey nights-man,
I can say that many people that are here would recommend that you pick up a Mvs machine, because of its affordability, for the cartridge and the machine. I personally have the aes machine with the phantom convertor and the cd machine. I can personally say that I prefer the cart machine slightly, but for the prices (like 25 for Turfmasters compared to 75+ on mvs and 600+ on home that the cd machine is a good buy for people starting out. The load times are bad for somegames, I know RBFF2 sucks with loads, but most of the older games are okay. Some games just load in the begining. This is just a suggestion and good luck Save your money and get something you'll be glad you did,
Ralfakick