@n80- I’m not advocating a ’spend money’ approach, but reality intrudes. (I think we are now well beyond the OP’s mandate). Older turntables can be fine. But once you get into changing arms, playing with different cartridges (right now, I’m playing with an old Monster Alpha Genesis that was rebuilt- it tracks like a motha, but doesn’t have the midrange of my long in the tooth Airtight Supreme, nor did I expect it to), cleaning records and buying decent playing copies (bin cheapies can often sound better than new re-masters but condition and pressing are outcome determinative), you are unavoidably deep. I’m sure there are people who can buy one of those USB turntables of the type sold at record stores, some less than stellar copies of used records or new reissues and be perfectly happy, but I don’t think that reveals the potential of the medium.
With some exceptions for people that jumped into LP playing in the last 10 years, I think most of us have been doing this a while-- not that this means much in terms of knowledge- but I did the bulk of my record acquisitions before the prices went nuts and clean copies were hard to find among all the dross now being thrown up online; there is as much luck as there is knowledge in finding those gems on vinyl. (I happened on a sealed promo of Nathan Davis’ 6th Sense in the 11th House purely by luck when it popped up as a new listing during a bout of insomnia-- not an easy find). Some of the golden era hard rock, from UK Island, Vertigo, Decca, Philips, etc. are now stratospherically priced; there the reissue makes sense if only to have a copy, assuming the record has been reissued legitimately and many of those are not particularly great sounding compared to the early pressings. The knowledge of records alone keeps people who do this full time constantly busy. (I’m a dilettante, and retired, so I have the time, but it is a constant learning curve, and an enjoyable one for me-- for someone who doesn’t want to bother it is probably an unnecessary headache). It isn’t about the "experience" or the "lifestyle"- it is a combination of learning about music that has been neglected, not reissued, pressing variations, how to shop vinyl (no magic formula I’ve found- it’s time, effort and knowledge which can be acquired) as well as sonic outcomes.
I only started ’doing’ digital recently and have found a lot of good stuff on the silver disc, musically and sonically, so it also isn’t about the vinyl vs. __ format arguments for me either.
If I were doing this from scratch, I’d probably shop a quality used table with appropriate arm. But there’s still the issue of records--which is the biggest cost long term. And doing this in a way that results in a good sonic outcome does require some money, time and effort. Can you skirt one of the three? Sure. But at what cost, given the results? I think that’s up to the individual.
That’s why I wouldn’t advocate diving into this with plug and play expectations on the cheap. Not an elitist attitude, just reality as I know it.
OCD- sure. You’ve mentioned that you’ve tracked cars. Would you take a stock rental car to a track (forget the old Hertz Shelby) compared to what you did to work the suspension and do whatever you felt was necessary to maximize your results, even if done on a cost-effective basis? Just another hobby with deep crevasses and accumulated knowledge. If done for enjoyment, rather than making money, or getting all myopic on the details to the point where you aren’t using the thing as intended, that’s where I part ways with the collectors, the garage queen owners and the snob factor. I actually play those thousand dollar plus records. But, would I go out today and buy them at those prices? No way.
