I was in a similar vinyl dilemma a few years ago. Indeed there is more care and feeding involved in a vinyl system. However, after deciding to take the plunge, I have found the rituals involved to be pleasurable. The payback for me has been a more organic and satisfying sound.
With modern equipment, and record cleaning machines, the pops are rarely noticeable and when they happen, are not really objectionable.
Prior to vinyl, I had a Wadia 861 driving my CAT amps direct. Going to vinyl, I was obviously forced to purchase a pre-amp and bought a Supartek Chenin (with phono). I decided upon a Galibier turntable and Tri-Planar arm. This combination has been simply wonderful.
Fortunately, I had kept my LP from my youth, and have added several hundred primarily used albums to my collection. I find fun in hunting for used vinyl both locally and on the net.
Upon acquiring my vinyl rig, I found myself using it 95-99% of the time! With a $6K CDP essentially sitting idle, I decided to divest myself of it and move into the world of PC audio by purchasing a MacBook laptop and Wavelength Brick Silver DAD. I havent missed the Wadia, and now have the best of both worlds. Ive gotten off the CD playback upgrade merry-go-round and if I choose, I can enhance my digital playback by simply acquirng a DAC. BTW, I believe that PC Audio is the future of digital playback. For me, it has been that good -- both sonically and from a spectacular convenience perspective!
You do have a significant investment in CDs and it would be time consuming to rip them to a HD, but Im getting ready to send my approximately 650 CDs off for just that purpose. While over the years my son and I ripped most all of the tracks we liked from the collection into WAV files, they lack tagging info, and there are times I would like to play an entire CD or tracks other than what we ripped.
But I digress. Until I heard vinyl playback in my room/system, I wasnt necessarily smitten with the sonics that I had heard at a local dealer.
I was fortunate enough to have my turntable manufacturer passing through my locale trucking a table from Colorado to N.Y. He brought a rack, the tt, placed it in my room and couldnt energize the phono he brought. Believe it or not, I hauled one from storage a Phase Linear pre-amp from the 70s fired it up and listened to a Galibier tt, Graham tonearm and Denon 103R. From the first few minutes of the first LP, I was sold, and the rest is history.
I have what I consider to be an heirloom turntable, and I love everything associated with vinyl playback. While superb quality recordings sound, well superb, one of the things Ive found surprising, is Rock playback. I like most all rock material better on vinyl. It has immensely enhanced my critical listening repertoire.
With modern equipment, and record cleaning machines, the pops are rarely noticeable and when they happen, are not really objectionable.
Prior to vinyl, I had a Wadia 861 driving my CAT amps direct. Going to vinyl, I was obviously forced to purchase a pre-amp and bought a Supartek Chenin (with phono). I decided upon a Galibier turntable and Tri-Planar arm. This combination has been simply wonderful.
Fortunately, I had kept my LP from my youth, and have added several hundred primarily used albums to my collection. I find fun in hunting for used vinyl both locally and on the net.
Upon acquiring my vinyl rig, I found myself using it 95-99% of the time! With a $6K CDP essentially sitting idle, I decided to divest myself of it and move into the world of PC audio by purchasing a MacBook laptop and Wavelength Brick Silver DAD. I havent missed the Wadia, and now have the best of both worlds. Ive gotten off the CD playback upgrade merry-go-round and if I choose, I can enhance my digital playback by simply acquirng a DAC. BTW, I believe that PC Audio is the future of digital playback. For me, it has been that good -- both sonically and from a spectacular convenience perspective!
You do have a significant investment in CDs and it would be time consuming to rip them to a HD, but Im getting ready to send my approximately 650 CDs off for just that purpose. While over the years my son and I ripped most all of the tracks we liked from the collection into WAV files, they lack tagging info, and there are times I would like to play an entire CD or tracks other than what we ripped.
But I digress. Until I heard vinyl playback in my room/system, I wasnt necessarily smitten with the sonics that I had heard at a local dealer.
I was fortunate enough to have my turntable manufacturer passing through my locale trucking a table from Colorado to N.Y. He brought a rack, the tt, placed it in my room and couldnt energize the phono he brought. Believe it or not, I hauled one from storage a Phase Linear pre-amp from the 70s fired it up and listened to a Galibier tt, Graham tonearm and Denon 103R. From the first few minutes of the first LP, I was sold, and the rest is history.
I have what I consider to be an heirloom turntable, and I love everything associated with vinyl playback. While superb quality recordings sound, well superb, one of the things Ive found surprising, is Rock playback. I like most all rock material better on vinyl. It has immensely enhanced my critical listening repertoire.