Analog System to Beat Digital - - for little$$ ??

To get more out of your vinyl playback I suggest to consider the following.

1: You need to invest in and take time to beable to clean and keep clean your vinyl records. If you want to budget you can buy a good vacuuming machine for around $200 (Kab USA basic unit) up to more pricier models by Nitty Gritty and VPI etc. You may want to give a portable steamer setup as a low cost alternative. I find these work pretty good to. Yet other make their own DIY vacuuming setups using spare turntable platters and shop vac etc.

You also need an ability to keep your vinyl playing clean, a good carbon fibre brush works. I also use an older Discwasher D4 brush and fluid. These help keep my everyday playback cleaning fine. Still others also add a Zerosat static gun to aid in static control.

2: I suggest you consider the Technics SL-12xxMKII series turnatables especially ordering a modded one from KAB USA.

3: Get a good basic cartridge, look at Denon, Audio Technica, Dynavector and other in the sub $500 range. I like my Denon DL-110 on my Kab modded SL-1200MKII.

3: Pick up a good phono preamp a bargain would be the Cambridge Audio 640P.

You can get all this including a record vacuuming setup for under $2000.

jbryngelson,

More often than not I find a good vinyl copy of a record to sound better in the overall sense and listener involvement than the CD variant. But not all LP's sound great nor better than a good CD version. Nothing is 100% one way or the other but IMO again more often than not I find on my system that the vinyl record is better and more enjoyable to the CD version. Not that the CD sucks, in fact I am fine with stating that a well made redbook CD can sound very good and IMO the regular CD gets knocked around by many unfairly. Yes, the stupid loudness wars of the last decade or so has hurt the CD but but too many non-talented artists being pushed on us by the industry is worse, and vinyl or no vinyl wont make a lousy artist sound good LOL.

I have many great sounding CD's and my current CD player is not some uber high end unit. In fact it is a $9.00 thrift store find, a Magnavox CDB-586 (same as the Philips CDC-586), 1989 vintage CD changer with the generally well respected TDA-1541A DAC and the well made CDM-4 swing arm laser assembly. No, it's not as good as my best CD player I have owned, my now sold off Cambridge Audio D-300se but given I have no idea what high end (what ever that may mean) sounds like and only can give reference to my current but in my hobbyist and hard planed, well thought out, modestly priced system well CD's do sound good too. But again IMO vinyl often sounds better and more enjoyable. My Technics SL-1200mmkII with the CARDAS arm rewire from KAB USA, a Denon DL-110 cartridge and a Cambridge Audio 640p preamp is really a very impressive setup to my hearing in my room through my gear.