F155: The hype is true vinyl is stupendous your dealer is right it costs money but if you have it, do it, but its no picnic.
I had only 1 box of records when I started less than 2 months ago now through friends and family I have 4 boxes and haven't heard all of them. I also spent serious money on the net getting new recently released and heavy pressing remastered albums. Those are expensive with a capitol E.
I a more than pleased with the Music Hall MMF-5 which my dealer set up and comes with a cartridge and arm for about $500 new. Many consider that table the one to start with, there was just a thread about it. You'll probably need a phono stage unless you had bought a pre with a phono board or have an integrated with a phono stage. Any number of mini phono boxes will do- Clear audio sells a cheaper one as does Project, I got an unbelievably good one by Redgum its the little phono box,its great, But I wouldn't have bought it except I got it from a dealer who sold it to me as a demo very inexpensively.
A record cleaner also turned out to be a necessary piece (serious bucks look at VPI or Nitty Gitty in the catalogs) if you go with used. Which is really the only way to get quantity and want but poor quality is a rmians real problem with used you need to get near mint or mint if you don't want any noise.
Thats the bad news if you want audiophile level sound. The good news is that nothing sounds as good as vinyl and its worth it. I saw some inexpensive tables with built in phono stages but forget where. I have no idea what they sound like. As a total newbie I would listen to vinyl at a fellow audiophile's place before making the investment.
I am now totally addicted vinyl but you've got to understand its a real hassle as mentioned. Its not the place to put your precious dollars in your first serious system. That being said, after you get rolling a bit, give it a try it really is uniqely better.
