Newbie Analog High Expectations??

Everything Bob says is right on. Now, I will play the skeptic. I've returned to vinyl four times over the years, three, almost four were met with great disappointment. Vinyl simply didn't sound as good as my digital. Finally, this fourth attempt has met with success, albeit it still a work in progress.

And so I say, it all depends on how good your present digital is, your listening preferences, the quality of analog gear your proposing to buy, how you feel about greater amounts of labor directed to cleaning and turning over vinyl every 20 minutes or so, higher noise levels from grunge on vinyl, I could go on and on.

I think too many audiophiles make it seem easy to attain satisfaction in the analog realm. I've found it to be hard work, much harder than digital.

I'm just now beginning to attain an analog sound I find as involving as my digital, and this after months of spending mucho bucks and tweaking to no end. Now, perhaps I'm just hard to please, you may find analog nirvana right away, it seems many do. I will only say, no one can predict an outcome for you, you will just have to experience for yourself.

Listening to music through a turntable is a different experience than most other forms of listening. As others have said, it requires more attention to proper set-up and the actual turning of records. It is a less automated front end. Some of this adds to the overall listening experience in the opinions of some, others think it is a pain in the ass. The numerous variables also afford you the ability to fine tune the sound to a greater degree than what is available in other formats. If you are a tinkerer and like to be more involved in the outcome of your music, vinyl might be for you. It takes some work, most think that it is worth it in spades, myself included. When I first bought my tt it paled in comparison to my digital front end- now, after 6 months the vinyl is dialed in to the point there is no comparison between the two, worth the effort in my experience (much thanks to the many on this site that helped me wade thru the endless choices and decisions that I have had to make, opening up a whole new world of listening to me).

To answer your question, yes you could be disappointed with analog sound compared to the digital that you are used to. And much of this will have to do with your expectations.

But let's take off our anal audiophile geek hats for a second and look at the eventuality a different way. As a classic jazz fancier, you are surely aware that there are many, many great performances that are only available on LP, just as there are great performances only available on CD. Why would anyone who is genuinely interesed in the breadth and scope of our musical heritage intentionally cut themselves off from a substantial amount of great music? Real music lovers will want to have the ability to access both formats, and sound quality be damned.

Viridian, thank you, yes, music is supposed to be what this is all about! I would hate to think of a day where I'll be unable to enjoy my 6,000+ cds!

Thanks for the great discussion.

Im a mechanical engineer by trade, so I think the tinkering may be something that I can deal with.

I hears a system in the store I bought my maggies from playing vinyl on a turntable for an INCREDIBLE price, many time more than I want to spend. It was playing a 200 g press of Miles "Kind of Blue". I am looking at a Pro-ject Expression III or Rega P3/P5. If I can get a majority of that sound, I think I would be happy.

Sounds like you get what you pay and put into vinyl. I am on a progrssive movement to improve the small things of my system like cables.

Thanks again for the excellent advice.
Cory