Want to add vinyl to my system.

For me Once is start is hard to back to digital .

the work only for first installation after that either enjoy it or go up the chain .

tweak or upgrade is up to you .so satisfying playing and listening too.

You don't match a phono stage to a turntable! You match it to a cartridge, which you match to an arm.

I have a P8, which I love (make sure to isolate/suspend it properly), especially the RB 880 arm it comes with, a Sutherland LPS Insight phono stage and van den Hul MC One special cartridge. Lightish cartridge to go with a lighter arm in the Rega philosophy. Extremely quiet set up. Not looking for "warmth", just the details with a black background, good dynamics and set it and forget it strategy.

Best to find a local dealer you trust who will set it up for you and take the time to listen to what you want and not just sell you what he's got laying around.

@bwguy 

There are many good quality phono preamps/stages at many price points, so a budget would help us to narrow it down.  The Parasound Halo JC3+ or the PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamplifier are safe bets with lots of positive reviews 

A couple of other turntables recommended to me are the Mark Levinson 5105, EAT C Sharp, and VPI Prime.  Any thoughts on these models?

I can only but agree with mijostyn.

I am a record collector from the 70s, have reduced my collection to around 1200 or so now.

I would not bother with vinyl now if strarting from scratch. I had a superb vinyl setup, kuzma XLDC, 4pt, Atlas, Ypsilon phono. Eventually my digital caught up with the vinyl, unless playing mint analogue albums or some audiophile recordings (still marginal gains) digital was as good sometimes better. Most new LPs are from digital recordings, it also seems a lot of the recent MoFi productions are from DSD files!

What this person said. I have a P6 decent phono stage but only couple hundred albums. But I have worked my digital front end up to where it sounds almost as good and sometimes better than vinyl. This is budget is where I must live.

Given the storage complications and the cost of new vinyl releases and even the cost of used I would not recommend the path. Streaming/file/disc technology only getting better. It is the future.

Note: Especially given what ROON has to offer.  Like walking into a virtual library of music at your finger tips. 

rsf507

and how much does a "great digital system" cost?  My impression is a $2k CD player/DAC might be great to some, while for others, it will take a $20k investment to actually be great digital that is comparable or better than crackling popping  analog.

@jymc Can you elaborate on your Post.

Are you suggesting that it takes others $20K's Worth of Digital Equipment to produce a Digital Source that compares to a Vinyl Source of which value ?

Is your own experience that you have discovered a Digital Source for $2K, that will impress a group, is this discovery also suggested to be a rival to a Vinyl Source to which Value ? 

@pindac

I am not attaching a dollar figure as the basis for ranking any vinyl or digital systems. I’m certain we both know owners of $2k systems that believe they’ve found the holy grail, and the same goes for those with $20-$30k systems. Regardless, with that said, how many people in either the high or low priced groups, are truly trained listeners with a technical basis for being capable of objectively evaluating the "better or worse" definitions. Conversely, I’m absolutely certain these same people, generally, have strong (emotional?) opinions about the the gear they like and dislike.

In my experience, I have found two digital players that produce sonic characteristics unbelievably close to analog tape masters. These particular redbook CD players happen to be priced at $10k and $20k. I, personally, am hard pressed to find a significant difference between these two players. Both players have a non-feedback analog output stage powered by a tube PSU. Speaking for myself (remember I’m using MY EARS), I know of no other CD player that has similar analog characteristics.

The vast majority of CD players out there simply cannot compete on a comparative analog level with well assembled vinyl systems, and that includes some $20k plus SACD players I’ve listened to extensively.....not saying they sound horrible, but they do emphasize all characteristics, GOOD and bad, of the traditional digital we grew up with.  As for vinyl, I cannot reasonably address  comparative price categories of vinyl systems given the complex required synergies involving, TT, TA, cartridge and phono stage matching. I’ve heard decent $10k - $50k vinyl systems. I’ve also heard plenty of $100k plus vinyl systems that DO NOT blow away the more modestly priced ones!

Lastly, as for your last question about digital sources priced in the $2k range, there quite likely are players in the $2k price range that are listenable.  But for as many entry level players as I’ve heard, none in my opinion come close to producing the sonic characteristics of the two players I described above.  (I hope to purchase the $10k unit in the very near future.) 

+1 @simao   

I am primarily a digital listener but wanted a vinyl setup for some albums that are not currently available digitally.  I use a Technics 1200 with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge and a CA mm phono stage.  The sound is very good my main complaint being the usual vinyl issues of surface noise and short playing times

Agreed. My entire vinyl rig now (Nad C558, Clearaudio Maestro V2, Schiit Mani) costs less than a single Manley Chinook pre. I spend my vinyl money on good vinyl (although I did just send in my Hana SL to be retipped). 

I've come down from a VPI HW19MK4 with a Jelco 750 tonearm and a Hagerman Trumpet pre and truthfully don't notice the difference too much except for noise. But that's all. 

You don't have to spend a lot in vinyl to get sound you love. 

It took a while, but I finally revamped my analog side to at least equal the digital side.  With an expense of about $8000, I got a very decent sounding rig.  Since I have about two thousand records it was worth the expense.

be wary of anyone who tells you what you "must" spend in order to get good sound. I've seen some ridiculous claims to this effect and it's just not accurate.  Vinyl is a blast, I've never considered any of it work, and I have cleaned 2K+ albums with a VPI 16.5 unit.  I guess I just enjoy being around music, whether it is actively listening to a record or reading the liner notes while cleaning an album.  I think digital is great as well, I just don't use it when I'm "actively" (no distractions, phone down, laptop closed, etc) listening. 

Also, when people say "this/that/the other brand is junk" take it with a grain of salt, it's generally because they have some weird axe to grind.

My .02 is this is all quite subjective.

I would compare the relationship of analog audio vs digital to driving stick shift vs automatic or making coffee using a grinder and a chemex vs a keurig pod machine.

In each of these, some would say the manual aspect offers benefits in the process and ultimately in the performance.

I am one of them. To me, manuals are more fun and drive better, pour-over tastes better and analog sounds better, but I fully understand that others will disagree.