Help educate Analogue rookie

Even with anal retentive care & cleaning, pops & ticks come with the territory. No free lunch.

A couple of points as far as your budget is concerned:

One, unless you have a full function preamp, which has a phono stage built into it, (doubtful, as it is not necessary to have that to run digital sources), you will need to get a phono preamp. (If you are running the CD directly into your amps, you may need a line stage preamp as well, unless you decide to go to a full function preamp or a phono preamp with a volume control.)

I highly recommend that you get something decent like used EAR or ARC phono preamp. A cheap phono preamp will really keep you from getting really good sound. Try to spend a few hundred to close to a thousand dollars on a decent to a good phono preamp.

Two, you will need to invest in some record cleaning supplies. I recommend a used RCM, like a Nitty Gritty or a Record Doctor to get you started. These really help in keeping your records sounding their best, and they help in cleaning quite a bit. Expect to spend a couple of hundred dollars on cleaning supplies. (I bought a used NG 1.0 RCM, and it works just fine.)

As far as specific turntables, entry level tables by: Nottingahm, Basis, VPI are all good choices.
(I bought a used Basis 1400, w/Rega RB300 arm, and it was a very easy table and arm to setup and not a tweaky type of table.)

I recommend buying the table and arm used (from a good source) and preferrably a local source as well, as shipping turntables can be problematic. This will enable you to get twice the table for your money.

I also recommend buying your cartridge new and having your local dealer install it on your table and arm. This will save you a potential headache, as they know how to adjust the VTA, VTF, azimuth, etc.. (Things that are tough for a newbie to figure out.)

Good Luck!

PS Feel free to ask lots of questions!

I really like the sound of my turntable and now use it about 50% since upgrading to an Arcam FMJ33 CD player. The soundstage with my vinyl has a bit more depth, and is a little more expansive. The individual notes also seem to have more depth and with my vinyl system it is a little easier to get lost in the music. I do however love my digital system I now have, Arcam plus Hydra 4. For me the biggest reason to have both is that there is a great deal of music that is not, nor will it ever be on CD. It greatly expands my music library. I do admit however that on certain recordings, Neil Young, "Greatest Hit", Starker Bach Cello Suites, I have both CD and LP and when I sit down to a dedicated listening session I will usually play an LP. With a good digital system I am very happy, but when I play vinyl I am in awe. I also don't really have any problems with a lot of noise. Many people who come to visit I surprised how quiet my albums are. I do use a RCM.

As for turntables, I bought a used VPI HW19Jr with AQ PT6 and put on a new Dynavector 10X5. Nice easy system with not a whole lot of cash outlay. If I was going new I might look at the VPI scout. I may be upgrading in a year or two and am looking at the Nottingham Spacedeck, I heard one recently and fell in love. But most importantly would be to get the assistance of a good shop that know turntables well.

I find that the surface noise and occasional static pops are far easier to listen to than a lifeless CD. I'm glad that SACD has caught on fairly well in the classical genre. I like to listen to classical on SACD, where there won't be any static pops or other spurious noise during extremely quiet passages. Rock music, however, is always better on vinyl. The generally higher and consistently louder levels mean you won't really notice the surface noise, unless the record is really dirty or scratched. Just the other day I listened to the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" for the first time in years on my vinyl rig, and couldn't believe all the fantastic bass playing by Sir Paul that I had totally forgotten about because I've never heard it on the CD.

Cheers.

I would agree with Onhwy61 that you really need to think about the cost of acquiring a good LP collection if you don't already have one. This is you're biggest issue. Good hardware is easily available. In fact, there are better turntables and cartridges available today than there have ever been. Research music direct, acoustic sounds, red trumpet, Ebay and Gemm to see if the stuff you want is available at a price you will pay. New issue LP's are worthless if not completely analog mastered (many are not). You might as well buy a CD.
Finally, don't pay attention to Porizob above who doesn't know what he's talking about. I have hundreds of used LP's from the 50's and 60's with no pop's and clicks. You might hear a little surface noise between the tracks but on the tracks, any slight surface noise is completely overwhelmed by the lucious sound of the music. If complete silence is your criteria for quality, just turn off your system and it will sound perfect!