Analog newbee looking for advice

I have to join in agreeing with Albert and Doug. Plug 'n play is an oxymoron in analog replay. You have to teach yourself and be really up for experimentation and tweaking. In fact that's part of the attraction.

There's a wealth of excellent knowledge available on this board and to be had from a few hours googling and it strikes me that if you are too lazy to do some searching then you haven't got the right mindset for getting the best from vinyl replay.

I would suggest that you check out the "high end turntable from home despot" thread here and pick up some decent classic of arm/cart geometry adjustment and get to appreciate the audible differences from adjusting VTF, SRA, azimuth and bias. And that's before you begin to adjust cartridge loading on your preamp.

In analog a $200 cart in a $400 arm, if set up well, can sound better than equipment costing 10 times more that's set up poorly. Set-up is key and you have to be self-sufficient in doing it yourself because, in most cases, there aren't many retailers who know vinyl set-up any more.

The Rega arms are a good starting point, any cartridge and phono stage will suffice to start. However you can achieve a lot in terms of teaching yourself about vinyl by buying an old direct drive table.

Only when you understand how to get a table sounding the best it can, should you go on to more expensive equipment.

If you are determined to buy a new plug and play rig then I would suggest that you check out the Avid range. They are unique in that the dealer can set up the arm and cart to survive shipment.

On balance though I'm tempted to recommend that you stay with digital and spend your analog budget on increasing your cd collection.

I guess the only other consideration is how much of the music you enjoy is readily available on vinyl. Unfortunatley, there is so much more available on CD. There is an ever increasing supply of new vinyl releases, but they are neither cheap or again, always what you may prefer to listen to.
Vinyl does have a magic "something?" that even the best digital misses. You relax around it.

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the advice. It sounds like there's no easy or cheap way into vinyl. Now I'm leaning toward Flyingred's recommendation and getting the Opus 21 and more CDs. I guess it can never be easy...

Dburdick, if you don't try, you will never know. As I mentioned before, the posters do have valid points BUT they are too negative. My experience is that to get anywhere in life is to take some level of risk; losers are ones that always take the safe route.

Enough philosophy already.

Fact is if you put together a well thought out used TT for around $750, no CD player on the planet regardless of price will give the same. Another poster made the comment that vinyl is expensive and there are not a lot of titles. Really? I pay an average of $3 for each my vinyls (I have about 2K LP's now) and I have titles that you'll never get on CD.

Regards
Paul

You can get a quality rig for low dollars if you just take your time. First, do some reading. Buy some used Stereophiles and The Absoulute Sounds. Read-up on this forum, Audio Asylum, Soundstage's Vinyl Column, and high-endaudio.com. Take your time. Explore your options.

Start small. I have no problem recommending a Rega P2 or P3 as a start for most audiophiles. Don't misunderstand my thought, for there are many other tables out there. But for the ability to keep a world-class tonearm, the multitude of tweaks, and more; Rega is unpresedented. I started with a Thorens 180, but next moved to a Rega P2 and have a 250 arm on my VPI-Mk IV (thinking on if I'm going to move to a JMW-10 or just "Mongoose" the 250---any thoughts anyone?).

For a basic setup, you will want a table with an arm and a cartridge. Since you don't now what type of sound you like, take the new stock cartridge and go from there. You will have a lot of learning ahead as you relish in the customization that vinyl can give.

Also, goto a site like www.euclidrecords.com and blow a 100 or so on albums you don't have by musicians you have a stong affinity for. Get used to discovering new music as vinyl makes this possible on a daily basis.

Yes, vinyl does require you to work for the sound; but that's the fun of it all. You go on-line, find a tweak, execute it and get better sound. In some respects, you never see fully what your rig can do; but based on what you've seen thus far, it's so good you know it's the way to go.

I hope you find vinyl a good home for you. I can't get everything on vinyl, but I do a 50/50 split with my Cd player---each have thier own sonics.

Marty