Brand new to vinyl: Help!

@thyname, are there any high end audio shops within driving distance? I don’t recall if you said what part of the country you live in. If we knew that, the locals or those familiar could tell you where to stop in.

Most high end shops will absolutely have one or more higher end tables set up with good gear. The intent here is not to entice you to buy but to hear what a good vinyl setup is capable of. Go listen to a few setups before spending any money.

If you discover vinyl is a path worth pursuing, invest with pieces that can transfer to a better table. Start with a better cartridge. I think stepping up to just the Ortofon 2M Blue won’t transfer all that well to a quality table. I recommend at least the Ortofon Bronze, the Hana MC, or the Audio-Technica AT-OC9ML/II , all under $500 but could be used on the better table. You also have to let cartridges break in, including the 2M Red. I have one of those myself and it’s not bad for the price. Some require upwards of 100 hours of play to fully reveal all they have to offer.

I did pretty much the same thing, although at a somewhat higher initial price. The value priced table I bought came with a better MM cartridge, but I bought an even better MC cartridge knowing I could continue to use it when I bought my "good" table (Technics SL 1200G).

Oh, and cables do make a significant difference as your gear should be able to exploit that. What model of Ayre preamp are you using? Must it use a balanced connection for the phono section? Investing in a better cable would also be a transferable purchase to a better table someday. I have a Morrow PH5 cable on my new table. It’s not their best, but it’s in line with the Technics quality. I’m not sure if Morrow can terminate with a balanced connection on the one end, but they should be able to.