Congrats on waking-up from the digital slumber. Its important to make sure your turntable is setup properly as, at least for me, that makes the difference between you loving your vinyl or hating it. Invest in a decent phono cartridge. After being vacated from the analog world for close to 30 years, I found within a few months upgrading from the stock cartridge that came with my first turntable made a HUGE difference in the sound and my overall enjoyment of listening to vinyl. And you don't have to spend a lot on a cartridge to enjoy the LPs you're listening to. My first upgrade was from an AT95 to an Ortofon Blue (which was around $170 at the time) and that was a significant amount of money to me for "just a needle" but I was hearing things on my LPs that I wasn't hearing with the AT95. Also, when the time comes, a good phono pre-amp makes a big difference. Its taken me several years to get my rig to where I want it to be and now I am enjoying my vinyl more than ever in my old age. Be patient and take your time with making adjustments and adding equipment to your system. Listening to vinyl is a marathon and certainly not a sprint.
Turntable noobie...what advice do you have?
As this forum has corrupted me and I have decided to dive down the rabbit hole of LP's. Usually I stream but I find the tactile experience of records appealing. I have ordered a Pro-ject RPM-3 Carbon with Sumiko Amethyst cartridge and a Mobile Fidelity StudioPhono preamp. Oh, and a record brush. I will be plugging them into my Voyager GAN amp and from there powering my LSA 20 Statement speakers.
I know there is always better equipment to get but I feel this gives a good starting point. I picked up some new records but a half dozen does not a record collection make. So I do plan on making my focus for the near future getting more and expanding my collection. I listen to all kind of music so they will be many different genres. I will be getting new ones but I will undoubtedly get some used ones too.
Okay, so what all would you recommend for someone just getting into this hobby? Especially if I am getting any used records, I should probably look at a record cleaner. What else for equipment or doodads? What about tricks or tips for increasing my collection? In my city there is a record store called Music Millennium that I will be checking out and there of course if Barnes and Noble (where I purchased my other ones). Do you know of places online I should check out? Thanks in advance for your advice.