Is analog & vinyl anoying? Is it worht it.

For me, high fidelity is a hobby. That means that I am not averse to taking the time to optimize the setup, hell I enjoy it and find it rewarding, and a bit of ritual - as in cleaning and maintaining records - doesn't bother me either. For me, the reason that LP replay is essential is not the sound quality, but that so much of our rich recorded history is simply not available on any other format, and probably won't be. That seals the deal, as far as I am concerned. Some secondary issues are that many LPs can be purchased for a few dollars, and the artwork can be enjoyed in it's full glory.

IMO: it is only worth it if you have access to the vinyl!
Getting a $20,000 setup to play THREE LPs is not a good investment.
Me, I got 10,000 plus aquired in three years dirt cheap! (at $0.20 or less for many!!)
So for me it is easy to say it is worth the bother.
To spend a lot to play the $28 a pop new vinyl doesn't make sense.
Please!! If you want to get into it then do! If you are waffling to 'jump on board the bandwagon' FORGET IT JACK!!!
Only if you do not care if you waste $10k and decide it is not for you, that's ok.. then yeah, go for it! If you don't HAVE a grand to blow to the wind.. FORGET IT.
Old geezers may argue about it, but I say count the $$$ and balance the cost/enjoyment ratio and ask: "Do I have the cash to throw away a few grand on a whim?

04-09-07: Dan_ed
Tvad, I don't take them personally. It's just an old theme that obviously has an agenda.

Really? The theme (thread) has an agenda? I don't grasp that in this thread whatsoever. Hmmm...

Viridian makes a good point about some recordings not being available in other formats, and the enjoyment of album artwork. For those who own (or want to collect) music unavailable in formats other than vinyl, the analog format makes clear sense.

I just framed a couple of album covers, and a red vinyl record that were my grandmother's from Hawaii. Very cool. We're glad they're displayed in our living room/listening room.

I sometimes wonder if it's worth it. Then I put on my Japanese pressing of the Allman Bros live at the Fillmore and the thought melts away for awhile.

I gave up on Vinyl in 1985, that was the last time I bought a Vinyl album. Clearly I am blessed with "tin ears". I know all to well that Vinyl can sound excellent - I used to buy Japanese pressings and 12" 45 rpm singles whenever I could. However, in all honesty, I have never looked back. I have never been nostlagic or stuck in the past about things and my tastes in music kept moving forward too.

I will admit that CD Loudness Wars has become a real problem lately. This is the biggest drawback of digital - too much tweaking in the studios with Pro Tools etc. to get a compressed, in your face, distorted, loud, unpleasant sounding CD. (even in the 60's, compression to sound loud had become a problem with vinyl too, however, the analog medium remains that much harder to tweak & abuse)