I haven't slogged through the whole thread here, so maybe it's already been mentioned, but a major consideration should be children -- your own or those who may come to visit. Aside from the potential economic choices vinyl may force you to make (do we have another baby or do I spring for that separate synchronous motor power supply this year...?), you will also have to develop a robust set of defensive countermeasures to safeguard your turntable shrine area. If YOU find drawn to turntables, imagine how alluring they must look to a toddler. (Hey, what's that little pointy thing hanging underneath the long black tube? I should probably scrape it really hard several times with my thumbnail to check it out...hey, it broke off...) I normally try to keep the turntable semi-hidden by keeping the dustcover closed, with a big pile of cd's and a plant on top. And with #4 Son, the craftiest of the clan, I NEVER LET HIM SEE ME PLAY A RECORD. If he saw me open the dustcover and he realized what interesting things were in there, that rig would be in pieces next time I came home from work. Then there's the vibration isolation. Once in a while I try to cheat and play a record while my kids are awake, and at least one of them will come BOUNDING into the room and start some wild dance, which is good, except that my crusty Linn LP12 tries to start dancing too, and after a few hops by the tonearm across the record, the music stops. You see, I haven't gotten around to investing a thousand bux into adequate vibration isolation. I'm going to move to the concrete floor of the basement and use a lower, better platform, but even then I'll have to erect some sort of barriers around it. I could use the specialist wall shelf I had mounted to brick in England, but the drywall back home here in the U.S. carries so much vibration that I doubt there's much point. There's more, but you get the idea. So having said all that, I have to admit that I'm going to be like my father when he said, "I smoke, but you shouldn't, because it's bad for you." Despite the endless hassle, I like vinyl and will continue to monkey with it, but if you have the choice, this is a well from which you should probably not sip. Just walk away. There are plenty of other things that you can spend your time and money on that will give you more pleasure and benefit.
