Getting back into venal with a $2,000 budget.

Below your budget level, have you considered the Technics SL1500-C?

Comes with an Ortofon M Red cartridge and a decent built in phono preamp.

I would also ask the dealer if a trade-in for an Ortofon Blue would be possible.  It would be a very good move.

See if you are going to like vinyl with a TT which will serve you well for a number of years.

I prefer to buy new when I can.  I have both the Technics 1210 and 1500 TTs.  Happy with both.  The 1500 C is a bargain at the price.  

Rich 

Hi - 

Adding to my original comments ...

For me, my initial spend would depend on how sure I was that I was going to stick with vinyl in the medium term.  

I found that once I embraced vinyl, it became like everything else with audio (or guitars or cars or ) ... I tweaked and when I maxed out tweaking, I upgraded ... first cartridges, then preamps, then TTs themselves.  I dismissed some wise words I read along the way which went like ... buy the best you can, because you will be winding up there at some point.  

Without getting into my travails of the last 6 years, I would just offer to make sure that vinyl will be a keeper for you, before sinking in major bucks.  At the end of the day, $2K is a drop in the bucket with vinyl, especially given how much most prices in audio have increased in the last 2 years alone.

One of the best features about the 1500C is its built-in preamp.  Besides saving you some money, it's decent and it will save you having to deal with ground loops & hum & some of the TT agita that comes with setting up vinyl.  Personally, I would trade in the Ortofon Red, if the dealer would allow it.  

Try to make your initial foray into vinyl headache free and your chances of keeping & using your set-up will increase.

Best of luck,  

Rich 

Hi litespeed 

if you have any questions about the 1500C, please feel free to ask them.

I do not use the auto lift setting (you can defeat it).  In practice it seemed to be clipping the last few seconds off longer albums.  
 

Do try the preamp, I was pleasantly surprised with it and liked it more than my Parasound z phono preamp.  
 

The Ortofon blue is much better than the red, not even close.  The Goldring (E3) is pretty good for the cash. 
 

Rich 
 

Hi litespeed -

Vinyl is a rabbit hole.  There are hardware, software, and storage considerations.  Vinyl takes up space.  Vinyl begets more vinyl.  Just like tube rolling, there will be cartridge swapping.  You will upgrade at some point.

If you grew up with vinyl, did you like the experience of going to record stores and going through the stacks?  I get the same thrills today that I did 55 years ago when I go to (or can actually find) a record store.  Consider for a second, did you acquire many CDs along the way?  Odds are you will do the same with vinyl.  

None of this is a bad thing, btw.  You just need to determine if vinyl is going to be worth going down the rabbit hole.  And how do you accomplish this without breaking the bank?

At a bare minimum, you will need a TT and a cartridge and a preamp and some cables.  Wherever your starting point is, you need to have good enough equipment to see if this will be an audio extension that you wish to pursue.

Problem with coming on this site is that you are chatting up vinyl converts and we all have our stories and preferences.

I suggested the 1500 C because for $1200 ($1400 if you swap out the cartridge) you can be on your way in literally minutes and you have something that you can live with for at least a few years.  I am sure that a similar Rega or Marantz or Pro-ject will get you there too, though it may cost you several hundred more.  You will always be able to sell it, if it doesn't work for you.

If you have old records or used record shops in your area, you will need something to clean your records.  That goes a long way to removing the record noise that you don't get with CDs.  

That is the least that you are going to get away with.

Go beyond this entry level, but solid approach and I think you will wind up in $5K territory in no time.  It is not very hard to spend $2K on a TT, $1K on a cartridge, $1K on a pre-amp, $1K on accessories.  

Best of luck,

Rich 

@ litespeedaudio -

You could always ask your dealer to check for platter wobble, while he is prepping & installing your new cartridge.  Even though I live in NYC, I purchased my 1500C from an authorized, less known dealer, who I have dealt with over the years and would recommend highly.  He took care of everything for me.  Fwiw, no platter wobble with both my 1500C and 1210GR TTs.  

Best of luck & the holidays,

Rich