Equal $$ for Phono OR Streaming?

The most entertaining thread I've read in a while! Lots of great points and specific recommendations have been made. So let's talk about UX.

User experience preferences should be greatly taken into consideration. Much has made of the downsides to vinyl, like cleaning records. I don't mind spending an hour or two cleaning a pile of LPs, slipping them into a nice new sleeve and knowing they'll be clean basically for eternity. Other loath the core, don't do it, and then complain about "clicks & pops" as if they are inevitable. They aren't.

Does ownership of a collection matter to you? ...full size art and liner notes? The whole millennial vinyl craze seems often as much about the physical experience of playing/owning/displaying records as the sound quality. 

On the other hand, are you a playlist junkie? If so, digital is clearly your friend, not much debate there...70s mixed tapes notwithstanding, ha. 

Flipping albums, especially with audiophile 45s just isn't for everybody. Some love the required focus and get more out of the music, while others would rather play a song, turn on Roon Radio and let it go for hours at a time.  Side-note: gotta admit that adding a tonearm lifter is something I'm glad I did, and can be a real stress reducer at times.

On the digital side, how tolerant are you of software bugs, Apple & Windows updates breaking things, and buggy wifi/internet connections? Recently I spun about 5 albums while holding & talking with AT&T internet and Eero tech support teams over issues affecting my audio streaming...irony! 

Which tragedy hits home: the friend whose basement flood ruined a rack of album covers or the friend whose hard drives crashed and he lost all his hirez downloads? 

Does post-pandemic record shop & garage sale browsing sound like fun or a chore? I am always energized by a couple of hours LP-hunting!

OP, it's worth asking your friend about these considerations to get a sense of their mindset, habits and that may point you to the right side of the fence. Then get down to specific gear. 

Personally, I'm put a small amount into a Raspberry Pi, Intel NUC running Roon and a cheap decent dac like SMSL or Schiit and invest the other 80-90% into analog. Agree with comments about digital depreciation. This route would allow a change w/o huge loss down the road if he'd rather go all in on the digital side.

Cheers,
Spencer



 

Let’s look at this logically, the amount you are willing to spend on either idea should be the answer to the question.  If you have good speakers and a good amplifier you will only get good sound. (Not Great) I was in the same position and chose to go with a NAD streaming amp with a built in DAC.  Even with a great turntable which would cost so much more than you want to spend, you will still only get the sound reproduction equal to the rest of your equipment.  Streaming will give you good audio reproduction and so much more music to choose from at a monthly cost which would be less than the cost on one album.  Probably with at least equal sound. I think streaming is the future of audio for the masses. Once you reach a point where you can spend whatever you want, you decision might change.  My ears are not that great and my system sounds as good as I can hear.  Total cost for everything $20,000.

@sbank I have discussed these various user experience factors with my friend and he has  an equal appetite for either way of listening to music. What he would like to know is whether he should spend his money on digital or analog in the four to $6000 range. The rest of it will follow and he is open to it and he is going into it with his eyes wide open. Thank you for the your nice comment about the thread.

@hilde45

one additional, central point i would make (in reply to some other comments in this nice thread you have started) is that since i decided to tackle streaming this time last year since covid started, i very much believe that streamed music (using proper tidal, qobuz or other suitable lossless service) is absolutely able to deliver music at a superb quality into a well chosen downstream system ... to a point where the emotion-stirring nature of well recorded content will come through to thrill and move the listener

there is no doubt in my mind this is the case with presently available gear, and at quite a reasonable cost - in fact, a blue sound node 2i feeding an ayre codex or mhdt istanbul or a schiit gumby will do ’the trick’ (~$1500)

turntables are NOT needed to achieve the above - though one can argue the best tt’s may do it a touch better -- just as top-tier cd players have also been able to produce the desired goods for years now...

those who deny the above are either hopelessly stuck in their ways, can't see past what they have personally invested in in this hobby, and/or haven't tried streaming or done it properly