To venture back into vinyl or not,...that is the question.

No offense intended to anyone, but I must say that I have always found it perplexing, and not a little silly, when specific $ amounts are attached to a price point when all of a sudden it is “worth it” to do this or that. There are so many variables: the specific gear in question, synergy with ancillary components, expertise in set up, the particular listener’s sensitivity to and/or preference for the very real fundamental differences in the sound of each playback medium (regardless of cost). Sure, I’ve heard $4K CD players that, on balance, sound better than some $500 turntables. However, I have also heard meticulously chosen and set up $500 tt setups that I would much rather listen to than some $4K CD players in their respective systems and set up.

I have not read every post (sorry), so apology if this has been mentioned.

First thought that came to mind in response to your question was “Ok, presumably, you went to CD playback when you abandoned vinyl? So, what was your reaction to the switch? Did you feel or sense that you were missing something when listening to music after the switch? If not, then as has been pointed out, $500 probably isn’t enough to trump CD playback’s good qualities. As I’m sure has been pointed out, CD playback has gotten much better over the las few years. Still, in my experience, there is a fundament difference between CD playback (digital) and vinyl at any price level. Not because of the art work, larger package, etc. etc.; a fundamental difference in the sound and listener involvement. Not necessarily a bad thing, and not necessarily making one “better” than the other; but some listeners seem more sensitive to this difference than others, and that difference may tip the scale to one or the other. Everything that I’m sure has been pointed out about vinyl’s noise, tweakiness/inconvenience is true, but that fundamental difference can be heard with a well planned $500 expenditure. Whether that difference, at that price/performance level, constitutes “the magic” for you, only you can declde. Good luck.