Clueless Analog Newbie, Looking to Buy

Actually, no, things *haven't* changed in the year and a half since you last posted-at least in the world of vinyl. It's pretty much the same stuff available at your price point now as it was then. And since you still "know nothing" about it, even with the advice proffered last time and the eighteen months you might have spent searching archives here and at other sites (this question has been asked thousands of times) I can only assume that you're a tire kicker wasting all these people's time.

In sum, yeah, I'd stick to the ceedees.

Srwooten-
I'll be the first to help out someone who is genuinely interested in enjoying the joys of analog, but I'm not seeing that here. All of the info that the OP received 18 months ago is applicable today. For whatever reason, he didn't pursue the hobby since his initial post, and so he now returns with the very same question, and as he himself admits, he still "knows nothing". If the OP's only attempt at figuring this stuff out is to ask which stuff to buy every year and a half, he's probably not ready for the discipline required to have vinyl sound better than digital-plus, there is a ton of info out there for the neophyte who can type the word 'google'. Why should we waste our time answering the same questions again?

Therefore, in this particular case, I counsel ceedees. Sorry if that's harsh, but so be it.

No one said (or, at least I didn't) that a budget system can't be enjoyable. But let's not forget the ancillary stuff necessary for it to *be* enjoyable-especially relative to a ceedee reference. Stylus brush. VTF scale. Record cleaning brush. The tools, knowledge and discipline to learn to align your cart. Some way of cleaning the records, particularly if the OP is planning on buying used. LPs are valuable, so some good sleeves for storage. Oh yeah, that brings up the pesky issue of software-how much of that 400.00 budget will go to buying some music? A library of, say, 12 albums is going to get old really, really quick.

Yes, people have been enjoying records for close to a century, but how many of those people would choose ceedee over vinyl on a mid-fi system? Who knows, but if the marketplace is any indication, about 99%-and as much as I like vinyl, I'd probably be in that percentile. If I was in the OP's position and was gifted with a large record collection, it would be fun to buy a cheap record player and spin some tunes. But I'm pretty sure I'd go back to digital for the best sound.

And that was, after all, the OP's initial question.