Beginner in Vinyl - How far should I go?


I'm full of questions these days, but...

My question is, how far should I go? I recently went on holiday in Europe and picked up a few vinyls for really cheap (Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, Diana Ross & the Supremes), and I'd like to listen to them, but I'm not sure how far I should go into investing into a turntable.

How much difference is there between getting some fully-automatic Sony/Teac turntable with built in phono pre-amp and actually making a further step up to a manual turntable with separate phono pre-amp?

For example, I could:

1) Get the TEAC PA688 turntable with cartridge, phono pre-amp, already included for $79.88 off J&R;
2) Get a Project 1.2 turntable with Sumiko Phono Box and a cleaning kit for $500 from Needle Doctor; probably less if I go with something like Music Hall.

How much of a difference would there be in the sound? I've also heard that vinyls get worn out and sound a lot staler and less detailed, so perhaps I'd be better off just getting the TEAC (or any other el cheapo one - any recommendations?)

I guess how much I invest into buying vinyl records depends on how nice the sound is, and how durable it is as a medium.

I appreciate any recommendations on hardware, both ways. Thanks.
lennychen

Showing 1 response by 4yanx

This reminds me of the famous line from Hans and Franz on the old SNL's. HEAR US NOW AND BELEIVE US LATER! :-)

I, too, started from scratch and started building a quality system about 6 months ago. I had a late-70's Sony DD table with a decent Ortofon cartridge. Used it with my higher grade stuff and, by God, it sound pretty dang good with my old vinyl. Then, I recently bought a Nottingham Spacedeck. First album I threw on was a thrice played Maxell Jazz sampler album that I got free for buying blank tapes years ago. Queued it up to "New York Sate of Mind". Nearly fell out of my chair upon hearing the difference.

Someone above said it best, if you have anywhere near decent components - you OWE IT TO YOURSELF to get a good table.