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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 steveaudio

steveaudio
331 posts
 
Like some others here have mentioned, you WILL need a good LP cleaning machine--I had a VPI HW16 that I paid about $400 for. Takes a few minutes to clean EACH Lp.

You will want to buy high quality inner sleeves if you have older LP's w/o them.

You WILL need a good phono stage if your amp or pre-amp doesn't have one. I'd budget at least $500-$1000 (it's as important as your cartridge or TT).

A good cartridge alone might start at a few $$hundred. And if your $700 Benz cartridge fails after a few years, you might not be happy. And if you're not good at installing & aligning cartridges, that's another issue.

IMHO, (I hope the vinyl addicts don't shoot me!), digital players & CD's & SACD's have improved so much, that it would be very difficult to best a $1000-$1500-$2000 CDP with the same amount spent on vinyl equip.

OTOH: If you find a used rega p25 w/cartridge for $500-$600, spend a few $$hundred on a phono stage, & get some used vinyl, have fun with it!! This is a hobby after all. Like in the move "Risky Business", where Tom Cruise's friend says to him: "Sometimes you just gotta say, What the ----!"
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