[Matt Cooney]

I never got into vinyl - decided long ago that it was a pain, and the negatives would outweigh any positives.  I cast my lot, and was set in my digital ways.  But I have found the old records of my youth that I still have, and my daughter is encouraging me to add vinyl capability to my system.  My system is relatively modern Bryston stuff from digital player through monoblocks, and B&W803II speakers - sounds pretty good.  So, how do I experiment with vinyl?  I could spend on one of the new $200-$500 well-rated solutions I am reading about, but compared to my digital system, it may (unfairly) leave vinyl in the "meh" category.  If I spend a lot of money, there's still a decent chance that I don't get into vinyl and then I just spent a bunch of money I should not have.

Any words of wisdom for a bloke in my situation?  P.S. and I don't have a phono stage, so need to account for that.

[FullRangeMan]

I could suggest a Technics SL1200, beautiful, reliable and good sound, just dont cost $500.

[Matt Cooney]

Thanks...the sort of feedback I'm looking for!

[Matt Cooney]

Hmmm.  eBay seems to disagree on the price...a few stragglers in the 400s, but seems to be a $500 and up unit

[rlee8394]

Matt,

I'd give this a shot:

https://www.schiit.com/products/sol

Ron

[SET Man]

...But I have found the old records of my youth that I still have, and my daughter is encouraging me to add vinyl capability to my system.
....

Hey!

   Well, with that I think you should definitely do it.

   I see that you will need both turntable and phono pre set. Now the question is how much do you want to spend? True that $200 won't get you far. But still you don't need $10K turntable to enjoy music from vinyl. And I wouldn't over look some entry level set up or even used one.

   The biggest thing you have to really have to pay attention to is, doesn't matter how expensive your turntable and cartridge you have. You have to make sure it set up right! This will make or break the sound. Even 1mm can make a huge different in sound!

  Oh! There's one more thing you'll need, patience.

   Good luck and keep us posted.

Buddy

   

[toocool4]

Yes owning a record player can be a pain, but the negatives does not outweigh the positive not for me anyway.

Recommending a record player is not an easy recommendation, the amount of money you spend is not an indication of quality. The trick is to spend wisely and like have been mentioned before, proper setup is crucial.

In your case since you have not bothered before, you want something that is as easy and maintenance free as much as possible. I will not mention price points but if you are looking for something that will sound good and not disappoint compared to your digital setup, i would say look at the Rega turntables.

[FullRangeMan]

Not to mention the washing machine before each listening.

[timind]

I grew up with records and maintained their superiority up to around the turn of the century. And even though their play time became almost zero, I held on to them. In 2008 we bought a new house. It was during the planning for the move I realized the records were more of a burden than they were worth. I sold all but 100 of them; too much sentiment.

A few years later I had feelings similar to yours and bought a turntable and gave them (now called vinyl) another try. It only took a few months for the novelty to wear off. I had no problem with the sound, not bothered by clicks and pops as that just seemed natural to me. It boiled down to this: when I listen to music, I want to listen to music. I don't want to fiddle with records, hell, I don't even fiddle with cds anymore.

My suggestion, unless money is of no concern, is to buy something inexpensive, or used, so you can turn it around if you find vinyl is more trouble than it's worth.

Oh yeah, and my youngest daughter also had a hand in my return to records. I bought her a turntable as she was in a hipster phase and had to experience vinyl. Her phase lasted a month or two before she was back listening to her iphone, or was the ipod still a thing back then?

Good luck.

[Matt Cooney]

I grew up with records and maintained their superiority up to around the turn of the century. And even though their play time became almost zero, I held on to them. In 2008 we bought a new house. It was during the planning for the move I realized the records were more of a burden than they were worth. I sold all but 100 of them; too much sentiment.

A few years later I had feelings similar to yours and bought a turntable and gave them (now called vinyl) another try. It only took a few months for the novelty to wear off. I had no problem with the sound, not bothered by clicks and pops as that just seemed natural to me. It boiled down to this: when I listen to music, I want to listen to music. I don't want to fiddle with records, hell, I don't even fiddle with cds anymore.

My suggestion, unless money is of no concern, is to buy something inexpensive, or used, so you can turn it around if you find vinyl is more trouble than it's worth.

Oh yeah, and my youngest daughter also had a hand in my return to records. I bought her a turntable as she was in a hipster phase and had to experience vinyl. Her phase lasted a month or two before she was back listening to her iphone, or was the ipod still a thing back then?

Good luck.

Thanks.  Given the forum I am in, I was expecting more messages along the lines of: It's nirvana, you just got to go for it! Interesting, and appreciated, that I have some more sober views!

[guf]

I've never posted publicly about my recent entry into vinyl. Started in Oct. I had some good advisors that steered me into spending more that ii was comfortable with.  I had a decent digital set up ( big 7 dac, and all the add on stuff to make it sound more analog) tons of music and ZERO records. People told me I was crazy, not to do it.  I went for broke, Went for debt... there is no doubt in my mind I made the right choice. I listen to more music than I ever have. Full records! Both sides! I appreciate  music more than I ever have. Does it sound better?  1000% Any tool or equipment thats gets you to sit and listen more makes it better.  That emotional engagement people talk about... that is real. 

I have listend to digital on my main rig like 4 times in 6 months. Sure i listen with my iphone through the built in speakers!

It's Nirvina!! just go for it !!!

[Matt Cooney]

I've never posted publicly about my recent entry into vinyl. Started in Oct. I had some good advisors that steered me into spending more that ii was comfortable with.  I had a decent digital set up ( big 7 dac, and all the add on stuff to make it sound more analog) tons of music and ZERO records. People told me I was crazy, not to do it.  I went for broke, Went for debt... there is no doubt in my mind I made the right choice. I listen to more music than I ever have. Full records! Both sides! I appreciate  music more than I ever have. Does it sound better?  1000% Any tool or equipment thats gets you to sit and listen more makes it better.  That emotional engagement people talk about... that is real. 

I have listend to digital on my main rig like 4 times in 6 months. Sure i listen with my iphone through the built in speakers!

It's Nirvina!! just go for it !!!

Why you gotta go and complicate things for me like that?  And can you lend me your credit card number while you're at it? 

[Freo-1]

I grew up with records and maintained their superiority up to around the turn of the century. And even though their play time became almost zero, I held on to them. In 2008 we bought a new house. It was during the planning for the move I realized the records were more of a burden than they were worth. I sold all but 100 of them; too much sentiment.

A few years later I had feelings similar to yours and bought a turntable and gave them (now called vinyl) another try. It only took a few months for the novelty to wear off. I had no problem with the sound, not bothered by clicks and pops as that just seemed natural to me. It boiled down to this: when I listen to music, I want to listen to music. I don't want to fiddle with records, hell, I don't even fiddle with cds anymore.

My suggestion, unless money is of no concern, is to buy something inexpensive, or used, so you can turn it around if you find vinyl is more trouble than it's worth.

Oh yeah, and my youngest daughter also had a hand in my return to records. I bought her a turntable as she was in a hipster phase and had to experience vinyl. Her phase lasted a month or two before she was back listening to her iphone, or was the ipod still a thing back then?

Good luck.

Many good points made here.   While vinyl does have nostalgia,  it's definitely not high resolution.


Before you spend $$$, consider auditioning a vinyl rig along with a comparable high res digital rig. 

[Wind Chaser]

Many good points made here.   While vinyl does have nostalgia,  it's definitely not high resolution.


Before you spend $$$, consider auditioning a vinyl rig along with a comparable high res digital rig.

+1 

[Matt Cooney]

Many good points made here.   While vinyl does have nostalgia,  it's definitely not high resolution.


Before you spend $$$, consider auditioning a vinyl rig along with a comparable high res digital rig.

That is a great seque to an important question that....as I write, I seem to be able to answer myself.  I hate paying for retail audio, and from the time I was a scrappy youngster, I would look for good deals in the used market.  Which means one cannot "audition" except in the sense of buy, try and resell.  To audition, I need to form a relationship with a local hifi shop and, if I am of good moral character, I should not take home a rig to test out unless I am prepared to pay retail for it.  Perhaps I just need to deal with that model.  Or an online OEM or dealer who accepts returns - one of the gentlemen on this thread recommended the Schitt turntable, and it looks like they accept returns less 5% within 15 days.   

[jgerber4]

Just as a sample point-
I have about 3,000 albums that I have been accumulating since the 60.  I have an MMF5 turntable that works just fine but is certainly not high end. To me, listening to vinyl is an entirely different activity from just listening to music. To listen, I have to look at the albums to decide what I want to listen to, then prepare to clean the record, then turn on the system, place the record, clean the stylus, and start the playback.  Repeat every twenty minutes. While the activity is rewarding if I am in the mood, I don't find that the sound or actual listening experience is in any way better than listening to the same album from Qobuz. It is more of an activity to enjoy if that is what I feel like doing.

Most of the time, if I think of an album that I have that I haven't listened to in a while, rather than going through all of that, I will just pull it up on Qobuz and listen to it there.

If I had $50,000 worth of turntable/arm/cartridge/phono preamp it might be a different story about the sound, but that is way beyond my $$ interest level.

Best of luck in your search.

[Matt Cooney]

Thank you.  This may paraphrase some of what I am gathering: The ritual of using records is a way to trigger emotional connections, especially if one has emotional connections with the times and places at which the music was first experienced.  From a detached audio standpoint, the process of dealing with records is burdensome, in exchange for subjective or debatable changes to performance/experience.

[timind]

Thank you.  This may paraphrase some of what I am gathering: The ritual of using records is a way to trigger emotional connections, especially if one has emotional connections with the times and places at which the music was first experienced.  From a detached audio standpoint, the process of dealing with records is burdensome, in exchange for subjective or debatable changes to performance/experience.

The ritual of using records is a way to trigger emotional connections, especially if one has emotional connections with the times and places at which the music was first experienced.

This is exactly it. If this helps you enjoy your music, then it's worth it. For me, the ritual adds nothing to how I experience the emotion music provides. If you think it may be beneficial to your experience, go for it. If you aren't sure, buy with the option of returning, or reselling the rig. Or, like me, keep the turntable on a shelf just in case you get a hankering to hear a record some time. I can keep it for some unforeseen desire, or I could just as easily give it away, if I knew someone who wanted it.

[vilding]

Thank you.  This may paraphrase some of what I am gathering: The ritual of using records is a way to trigger emotional connections, especially if one has emotional connections with the times and places at which the music was first experienced.  From a detached audio standpoint, the process of dealing with records is burdensome, in exchange for subjective or debatable changes to performance/experience.

Hehe well summarized... But one of the best parts of record playback is probably crate digging. Don't underestimate the joy of losing yourself in a record store, drinking coffee, listening to music, talking about music... You don't get that from streaming. And as others have said: Just handling the records. Having the artwork in a physical form... So yeah, the emotional part of it is a big one. As what goes for insanely expensive high end rigs, I don't really have any experience and I don't know how big a difference €€ makes. Others can attest to that. I'm pretty happy with the not very exotic stuff I have now (Creek phono pre, Goldring tt, Nagaoka mp110 pickup). And it sounds different from my digital set up, but I wouldn't say better. A little softer, a little more enveloping, but a little less holographic and detailed. I'm gonna stick with both, even if the analog set up is more emotionally than rationally motivated and I definitely will upgrade the digital side several times before changing the analog.

[guf]

sure... you can connect emotionally with music a lot of different ways. My BEST experience of listening to recorded music was 1993 listing from my walkman into speakers. These speakers had a powered option from 2 AA batteries. When i got enough money to get the batteries... I turn them on and BAM! tears running down my face is sounded so good.  true story

No nostalgia here with shopping for records, or flipping the disk. I only invested thousands of dollars for one reason. It sounds better. All that other stuff people mention is whatever to me. If you sit and do a quick A,B test at a friends house or somewhere maybe you won't get it. But sit and listen for hours a day, week after week,  really immerse yourself... pay attention. 

you'll get it.