Analog point of entry...

2. I like the "hand on" idea

There are numerous other websites for just that purpose...or so I'm told ;-)

Marco

Look for older Well Tempered tables, Oracle tables. 1K and your on your way and can live with it for a while why you get a good feel for analog.

Its a lot of work. ALbums need to be clean. Invest in a good cleaning system . A mchine to clean if you have the extra cash is a solid investment. Disc Doctor is also a good manuel cleaning sys
tem.

2. I like the "hand on" idea

There are numerous other websites for just that purpose...or so I'm told ;-)

Moderator...??? Hello???? :^)

i don't think a moderator is particularly needed, only that you develop a sense of humor.

If you want something audiophile approved you will probably end up spending $2000 minimum. Thats going with a $1000 table and arm combo plus another $1000 for cartridge and phono stage. The well tempered is a good suggestion if you go this route. I owned a well tempered for many years and its a good belt drive system. The damped arm makes everything pretty{too?} smooth but the bass is only fair. I found something much better with the Lenco idler wheel system but that entails finding a separate tonearm{as well as a Lenco} and before you know it your into armboards, plinths and cartridge swapping but hey I guess thats vinyl{maybe too much hands on}. The advantage is that its much cheaper and you will ultimately have more cartridge choices depending on the tonearm {tonearms} you buy. A problem with this stategy is that even good non-audiophile approved tonearms are becoming expensive lately. Good luck.

That's just Marco. Read some of his answers - a very well informed audio guy, but can sometimes be just silly - SILLY I TELL YOU!

That aside, I am also interested in what others have to say about this subject as I am entertaining the same idea as Pawlowski6132.

David

Readster, I think YOU need to hone your sense. I too was being funny. (The smily face at the end of my sentence was a tell.)

I just got back into vinyl playback about a month ago. Here's what I acquired for a total of about $1,200 US:

- ProJect RPM-5 turntable with 9c tonearm (carbon fibre tube), comes with phono cable;
- Clearaudio Aurum Classic Wood moving magnet cartridge;
- ProJect PhonoBox preamp;
- Dust cover for turntable;
- LP cleaning solution (home brew of Stereophile formula made by the store where I purchased the rig) and record brush;
- LAST record preservative and stylus cleaner solutions.

I already had an extra pair of interconnect cable to hook up the phono preamp to my line preamp, a 0.5m length of Zu Cable Gede (about $150). The rest of my audiobsession is described on my system page on Audiogon.

Since I don't really have a point of reference for vinyl, not having listened to any for the last 15 to 16 years, my comments about sound quality should be read with that in mind. However, I have been really impressed with the intimacy, presence, three-dimensionality and organic nature of the music played on this analog set-up. Even though this hardware might be considered to be at the lower end of high-end audio, everything that I've read about analog playback versus CD has been more or less confirmed. In a word, better!

All the best,

Max

PS Marco may be silly, but in a funny ha-ha way. ;-)

Also, I'm very familiar with Marco's posts in other threads; agreed, very knowledgeable.

Two years ago I resurrected my B&O Beogram TX2 tangental turntable with mid level MM3 cartridge and bought a used Parasound phono stage for $125. Since then, I'm hooked on vinyl like a druggie with almost weekly visits to my favorite used music store where I buy 4-5 records/visit for $1-3 dollars each with occassional splurges on "classic" or hard to find records for $5-10 each.

Now, I'm searching to upgrade my phono stage to get the most out of my current set up without replacing the turntable/cartridge which will happen inevitbly in the future. In short, if you get "hooked" you'll be on the same sad path. I encourage you to buy the best phono stage possible - a tube unit to maximize the lovely qualities of vinyl because it'll be one of the first place you'll be upgrading.

Happy listening and welcome back to the source of your first musical love.

You could probably squeeze by with 3k, but if you're like me that will double quickly.

its pretty hard to find a turntable on audiogon that won't go toe to toe with any digital front end. check out thorens(vintage only), ariston(vintage only),linn,oracle.....get a great cartridge and you're 'back to where you once belong'

There are a bunch of used LP12's for pretty cheap on the "Gon right now. I love mine. It's a "hands on" TT.

Also, who's this friggin' Marco or friggin' Jax2? What, the guy's got more than one friggin' name? Yeah, he's friggin' silly alright.

sorry pawlowski, i didn't notice the smiley face. there are a few people here, that take things way too seriously.

Jaybo,

You must not have heard good digital.

Hey Readster, ;^)

Oh, BTW, you're system is unbelieveable!! Does it sound as good as I think it does??? Is it possible?

So...around $3k to get in the game.

For CD's, I'm using a Classe CDT 1 transport and a Classe DAC 1 transport. A number of years ago, my old BIC turntable broke and I did not replace it. After my father passed away four years ago, I was given his old Benjamin Miracord 50H turntable. For anyone not familiar with this turntable, it can hardly be considered an audiophile turntable. I replaced the cartridge with a Grado Gold, placed it on some isolation points and put it to work in my system. I'm also using an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamp.
I have the Jazz at the Pawnshop CD and always loved the sound. I recently bought the LP recording and was surprised that the LP totally blew the CD away. Even my non-audiophile brother-in-law who was a sceptic easily heard the difference. LP's may be more work, but for me it's worth it. For sentimental reasons, I have not replaced the turntable yet, but if a turntable of this caliber can outperform my transport dac combo, I would love to hear what audiophile quality turntable sounds like.

For $3k you should be able to get a TT, arm, phono stage, cartridge, record cleaner, and supplies (making the assumption you buy the TT, arm and phono stage used). However, like I said, $3k can turn into $6k pretty fast.

matty....i have worked in the digital medium since the beginning. yes, the engineering and the mastering on the compact disc has improved tremendously. the inherent flaws in the medium and ALL playback devices are still there as they have always been. the compact disc was never about a true hi fidelity 'ideal'....from the beginnig it was always about consumer convenience and a much lower manufacturing price. when it was introduced, most consumers compared its sound to audio cassettes(lp's were only 20% of the marketplace). everyone who loves music should have a nice cd player, as well as a turntable, but no matter what cd player you have, and no matter how much it costs, it isn't that much more sophisticated than a walkman. the medium was never meant to be. the hi end industry just tried to make the best of it, and to this day, still does.

Jaybo - good answer.

amen jaybo

Jaybo,

I agree with your comments about convenience and cost. However, regardless of the reason for it's origin, it HAS comes a long way and does compete with the best of vinyl.
The level of sophistication has nothing to do with it.

To say "any turntable" will go "toe to toe" with any cd playback is, well, wrong.

I am a digital guy, but am also looking to get into the vinyl playback arena like the thread poster. Thus, my interest.

This is easy and won't cost you a pile of money - get a Rega P3, Dynavector 10x5 and a CI-Audio VPP-1 phono stage. You're looking at $1300 or so total investment new and you'll have to spend a LOT more to best it.

You don't have to spend $3-$4k to get quality analog playback - you just have to pick very very carefully. I've been through a lot of gear over the years and this combo keeps up very well with all of them regardless of price.

my original statement did have too much drama, but the point is....audiogon has gobs of used and new tables/arms/cartridges that compete with the best digital, and with analogue there is more information on the software to begin with.....records are a pain in the ass, but they're big and beautiful.....still a sucker for the art too.

No affiliation w/ the seller, but this looks like a good deal, and with a clean record in good shape, your Cary might start collecting dust.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1144303356

:-)

Welcome to the darkside, Matty.

"Marakanetz,

What, me go to vinyl? No way! :>)

Matty"

Why would it collect dust? Are you implying that I don't clean and take care of my equipment?????