Clueless Analog Newbie, Looking to Buy

This whole thread feels like Deja Vu....

I know for a fact Viridian has used the Mike Fremer/Porn Star analogy elsewhere...

Anyhow, Knotgreen -- what are your thoughts now? Aside from gaining the right to compete in these ridiculous battles on Audiogon if you do get into vinyl, are you still thinking about getting into it? I actually saw a used MMF-5 sell for about $200 here on Audiogon not too long ago...

And about the expensive LPs, if you don't mind building your collection to include mostly used classical, jazz, and classic rock LPs, you can find them fairly cheap.

04-28-09: Jwglista
And about the expensive LPs, if you don't mind building your collection to include mostly used classical, jazz, and classic rock LPs, you can find them fairly cheap.

Today I brought home a 2-LP album of the Oscar Peterson Trio (1976) on Pablo in excellent condition for $6.

Jwglista, you are quite sure of your facts, are you? Seems like deja vu all over again.............

Hi Knotgreen, my apolitical response to your question would be to consult with a reputable audio dealer. Analog is intrinsicly more complicated than digital, in both its user involvement in setup and the difference in sound. Listen to several different setups at several different pricepoints, ask questions and familliarize yourself with the difference between those pricepoints and the type of sound they offer. Make yourself aware of the difference in sound between analog and digital, and understand that whatever table you choose will not be as simple to use as a cd player. Make sure your table and arm choice is going to be something that can be setup by someone at your skill level. You may have to save your money for a while to get the setup that is right for you, as anyone on this post will tell you, analog is not cheap.

If you are serious about this, as others on this thread have said, you probably want to save up around $2k to make this a good experience from you. Even then, if you don't have someone there helping setup the table, etc, it is likely to be an exercise in frustration, as making turntables sound as good as CDs is not easy to do with all of the setup variables involved.

But - if you want to just jump in, buy the Audio Technica table and cartridge that has been recommended. Take the table and the cartridge to a reputable hifi dealer who can properly set it up, and pay them to do it.

You'll be in for about $400 at this point, and you'll need to buy some records to of course. You'll need to find a phono stage as well. This would be a good time to decide if you want to take things seriously, or if it was just a fun experiment, or maybe nothing will go right, and you will hate everything about how high maintainence analog playback is. Either way, that would be a good place to start.