Was your first cartridge relatively expensive?

First cartridge after 20 years was a Grado Green @ $60. It ran on an old Sansui table and sounded great. I upgraded modestly to a NAD533 and now use a Denon DL-110 that I got used for $85. Analog doesn't have to cost $$$. For the small ammount of money I am spending I am getting much more enjoyment from my table than from CD ... and now I building a Hagerman Bugle phono pre - never thought I would be doing that! And this is much much fun.

It is all about care as Eldartford illustrates. Warmth over coldness ... flipping a CD into a drawer is abrubt aka cold whereas brushing a record, carefully placing it on the table, etc, is physicall motion which feedsback ... treating the 'music' as a treasure. For me, it is relaxing to go thru these motions rather than tedious.

This may seems tedious to someone who just wants to 'hear some music' and wants to hear it without pops and clicks, but on second thought there is an urge for caring there as well ... cd stoplight pens, damping pads or rings.

for me, there is no argument that analog sounds better, so who cares about best environment, or dust, etc. these things can be overcome.

I like pears better than apples. I like what I like over things that I like less. I am not universally saying that analog is better ... but for me, I like it better.

I have a DL-110 hanging off a OEM RB250 screwed down to a NAD533. I like the sound of that better than my NAD cdp that also does HDCD.

The CDP is really good, resolves well, very vibrant, but the Table is more enveloping, fun, draws me in much more that the CDP.

I think it is a good thing to strive for that 'analog sound' in digital as this sounds better ... to me. Hey why do they always say they are striving to recreate that analog sound ... could it be ... that it reallys does ... sound better.