2. analog
  3. 1218926373

Is it worth expanding into Vinyl???

I've been kicking around the idea of going vinyl for awhile so I figured I'd post some questions. I understand the difference between Vinyl and Digital from a sound recording and reproduction standpoint and the pros/cons of it, but I guess real world opinion specific to my situation is what I seek.

I was born in '79 so by the time I got into music, Digital had already taken over. As such, I was never exposed to Vinyl as a child and have been raised on the digital "sound". At this point, I have a fairly substantial collection of SACD and DVD-Audio which serve as my primary listening material. Genre's are very dispersed including just about everything.

If I decided to venture into Vinyl, I would want to do so with a minimal investment up front (for the hardware)...perhaps around $500-$600. I also see that one can spend over $30k on a turntable with tonearm and cartridge, so that's a little intimidating to me. I don't want to waste even my measly $500 on getting into vinyl if I need to spend substantially more to get sound that exceeds that of my current all-digital setup.

Here is my current setup, so the only addition would be that of the turntable itself, played through these components. I suppose I'm just looking for opinions from anyone who has one regarding whether a ~$500 turntable on this system can yield sonic results that equal or exceed my current capabilities (realizing that the recording itself plays a tremendous role in the reproduction).

SACD/CD Player: Music Hall Maverick (stock)
DVD-A Player: Denon 3910 (stock)
PreAmp: Outlaw Audio 950
Amplifier: Outlaw Audio 750
Fronts: Axiom M80 v2 (Bi-Wired)
Center: Axiom VP150 v2
Rears: Axiom QS8 v2
Sub: Axiom EP500 v2
Interconnects: Outlaw Audio
Speaker Wire: Monster M1.4s BiWire

I should also mention that a nice, wide and open soundstage is the most important characteristic I look for in listening. The more "real" it all sounds, the happier I am.

Any opinions or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Turntable recommendations would also be greatly appreciated!
fatgh0st

Showing 1 response by rlwainwright

rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Save your time and money. You'd be better served by investing in improving the sound quality of your listening room. In any case, IIRC, the Outlaw does not have a phono preamp, so you'd need to budget for that.

Frankly, you already have a very nice digital source and adequate preamp and amp sections, I used to own a Denon 3910 and loved it. The Outlaw 950 and 750 combo is a good one. Not stellar, but good enough, nonetheless.

Unless you are willing to replace ALL of your speakers and your preamp/amp, upgrading your *room* is your wisest move - by far. Have an acoustician come in and give you an audit of your room. And then implement the changes he suggests. The cool part about this is that ALL of your sources (CD, DVD, FM, etc.) will instantly sound better.

You CAN achieve better sound than what you currently have, but adding a turntable is NOT going to do that for you...

(Feel free to contact me offlist if you have any other questions.)

-RW-
More to discover