would you bother?

I'm one of the "geezers" on this site, and have been spinning LP's for more than 50 years, so I may not be the best person to respond. I've been playing LP's, and tweaking my analog front end, for so long that it's one of the most enjoyable aspects for me of the high-end audio hobby.

For many people, I think the decision on whether to buy a turntable, etc., depends on how much money you have to invest not only in a good analog front end (turntable / tonearm / cartridge / phone preamp), but also how much money you have to spend on buying LP's. A good analog front end, with phono preamp, will cost AT LEAST $2000-2500, and twice that much is not unrealistic.

The price of both new and used LP's is on the high side, and not everyone has the patience to set up and tweak the turntable/tonearm combo so it reaches maximum performance. If you are not absolutely convinced that you want to add analog playback to your system, you might be better served to spend the money on a really good SACD or DVD-A player and the appropriate recordings.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First off...do you have any analogue gear? ie, turntable, phono pre, etc.

Secondly...are you rich? If the answer is no, I wouldn't bother. It can get out of control, that's if you want exceptional sound. Of course you can approach this with a budget system but don't expect too much.

Bottom line...too many factors involved to which only you can answer, however, I love music and I truly enjoy records over cds, my answer would be WHY NOT BOTHER?

Just over a year ago I bought my first TT and LP in over 15 years. I now have close to 500 LPs. I still think it was worth the effort. I had almost given up on high-end systems as the digital stuff was just not involving enough to keep me interested.

Then I had the good fortune to over-hear a speaker demo at a local hifi store. The customer was into LP's so the store owner had setup his Linn TT ahead of time and they were spinning some CSN&Y. It caught my ear immediately. I promised to stay out of the way so they let me listen along. There it was, the sound I had been missing for so long but had forgotten what the secret was. Next the owner changed the Levinson SS pre with a McIntosh tubed pre. Another huge leap towards where I wanted to go. I have never heard any SACD or DVD-A that sounded as good as a well setup TT.

Heed Sdcampbell's words. It is getting harder to find LPs without paying a premium, but even so it is usually cheaper than buying ceedees. From my experience this is no different with SACD and DVD-A. These formats still have limited releases and cost alot more than the average used LP.

Ok, I'm going on too long. But I think you get the idea that I know for me it was absolutely the right thing to do.

I was you 12 years ago, took the plunge and have not looked back. A key word I would suggest is patience. I have a very limited budget and my system is still lo-fi but I enjoy the hell out of everything about this deal.

I don't know where you live, but you might look around and see if there is used vinyl available inexpensively. You can get into this hobby at any price range you want. There is lots of help available also, when you have more questions.

Steve