Analog point of entry...


So, my only source to day is digital: Cary 303/300. I'd like to be able to play vinyl for the following reasons (not in any order):

1. I have lots of old albums that haven't been released on CD yet. And I'm sure there are more out there

2. I like the "hand on" idea

3. I believe in the benefits of this medium's unique sound.

My question is, what would be the price of admission - used - (incuding table, arm, cartridge AND phono pre) in order to match the fidelity of my CD Player.

Or, put another way, I don't vinyl playback that sounds junky compared to my digital playback.

thanx!
pawlowski6132
Jaybo,

I agree with your comments about convenience and cost. However, regardless of the reason for it's origin, it HAS comes a long way and does compete with the best of vinyl.
The level of sophistication has nothing to do with it.

To say "any turntable" will go "toe to toe" with any cd playback is, well, wrong.

I am a digital guy, but am also looking to get into the vinyl playback arena like the thread poster. Thus, my interest.
This is easy and won't cost you a pile of money - get a Rega P3, Dynavector 10x5 and a CI-Audio VPP-1 phono stage. You're looking at $1300 or so total investment new and you'll have to spend a LOT more to best it.

You don't have to spend $3-$4k to get quality analog playback - you just have to pick very very carefully. I've been through a lot of gear over the years and this combo keeps up very well with all of them regardless of price.
my original statement did have too much drama, but the point is....audiogon has gobs of used and new tables/arms/cartridges that compete with the best digital, and with analogue there is more information on the software to begin with.....records are a pain in the ass, but they're big and beautiful.....still a sucker for the art too.
No affiliation w/ the seller, but this looks like a good deal, and with a clean record in good shape, your Cary might start collecting dust.
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?anlgtabl&1144303356