I’ve argued on another thread and will continue to argue that vinyl and digital have different strengths. I won’t repeat that here but will direct you to some of the other threads where that has come up (maybe Elk can help).
I am not of the opinion continuing to support and listen to vinyl is just a matter of nostalgia, fascination with record jackets, artwork, comfort with a format I’m familiar with, etc. Modern vinyl playback is astoundingly good and gets more out of a format that already has characteristics many of us value (e.g. 3D palpability) with every passing year as the manufacturers refine the hardware. I have $15k+ invested in my vinyl front end and it is truly remarkable. With plenty of new and/or reissued vinyl available to keep adding to my collection.
For those of us with outstanding analog playback gear allow me to invert the question: Is There Any Point To Entry Level Digital? When the question is posed that way the answer doesn’t really hinge too much on the format and hinges much more on what you’re willing to invest to support it at it’s best.
No one will hate you, there is a lot of love out here in the etherworld, but some of us might divide that by 3 (Rega RP8, Alpheta 3, $2.5k phono amp).
One advantage of digital is that you can do playlists and sharing playlists is a way of lockdown communication that keeps my kids sane.
I also think there should be a law that all politicians should be required to produce a playlist every week. Over your way they seem to be throwing their toys out their collective pram at the moment. Vinyl wins hands-down on the chill out factor and I think if everyone sat down and spun some vinyl or compiled a playlist things would be a lot calmer. Especially now we’re on full lockdown and the golf courses are closed.
I’ve met Mat on multiple occasions, no LP/vinyl museum here. He is a serious vinyl collector and listener. An incredible collection, with a focus on the rare and obscure. Mats’ approach to music collecting is not for the faint hearted.
That’s going to be tough. Not that you can’t meet that budget, but whether it will be good enough in sound quality to have proven worthwhile is questionable. If this were 10-15 years ago, I’d say absolutely go for it. Besides the fact that your $1k would buy a little more then, digital has improved immensely (IMO) in the last decade or two, in both sound quality and convenience. While I used to be able to reliably hear better results in my analogue setup compared to my digital setup, that’s nowhere near the sure thing it used to be.
This is an interesting discussion. Particularly interesting (to me) are the opinions about how much is necessary to spend on vinyl to surpass digital quality and where that crossover point is. Obviously all just opinion and each will differ potentially.
I’m a dyed-in-the-wool vinyl lover so bear that in mind. You will need to spend more on a vinyl rig to equal the sound quality of a digital rig. Case in point. I have a PS Audio PWT and a DS DAC with a used price of about $4500. I have the top Rega cartridge that was $4500 with a trade in. Each front end has its strengths and weaknesses as stated in previous posts, but I would hate to be without either system. There are so many great older recordings (and some new: Blue Note, etc.) on vinyl I simply could not be without. Having choices is always better and if you treat the vinyl more like a hobby you can be very happy until the next upgrade (especially true for vinyl gear, but part of the “fun”).
Some brand spanking new recordings are being distributed in a way that needs to be cleaned first. I mean they are some kind of dirty at brand new! Can you imagine if you bought a new car and it was delivered with mud all over it?
Anyway…I have a soft spot for vinyl and all hard copies. I have interesting taste that doesn’t always make its way into even the larger streaming libraries. Not always, but often enough for me to want the hard copies. I think there is another thread that speaks to this.
Yep agreed on spending more on analog to equal or surpass. But I like thinking about, if I have a 3k digital front end, what level of spending on analog will be needed to beat - $5k, 7k, more?? But most who love vinyl think that always possible to reach that point at some level for nearly any digital setup (don’t want to sidetrack the discussion too much). But the tough choice is always should I just focus on best digital setup I can or split it up and go for both…hmmmm
If I could afford to do both (Lottery Ticket ?), I would. That would also involve re purchasing copies of the Pressings Audiophile and non Audiophile. My collection wasn’t that big but it would still cost me a couple grand just to replace the Vinyl.
This is part of my subjective dilemma. The question of “a vinyl rig to equal digital” vs “an entry level vinyl rig that is fun and doesn’t sound so much worse that I can’t listen to it”. I’m not clear on what a $400 turntable sounds like. And I haven’t owned a vinyl record in 40 years. My first audiophile like purchase was a Nakamichi tape deck in the 1980’s. Literally the only vinyl set up I’ve ever heard was some very inexpensive all in one my parents got me in the 70’s, along with an 8 track tape deck!
Yet the astonishing popularity of vinyl amongst the unwashed masses has me intrigued. I’m not going down the $10K audiophile vinyl rabbit hole, that’s for sure. But I do wonder if it might be fun to even just get a $400 turntable and a few of my all time favorite recordings on vinyl - just for kicks. Will that sound round, and full, and different than digital? Or will it be on par with Bluetooth or low res MP3?
My goal, even in digital, is not to distill every drop of audiophile priorities. I just want it to be fun and enjoyable. I sold my DSJ because it was too audiophile for me, in the sense of sounding amazing on the A+ recordings, and unlistenable on lesser recordings. The Border Patrol is far more forgiving even though it doesn’t reach the heights the DSJ was able to.
And it’s in that light that I wonder about entry level vinyl. Vinyl’s astonishing resurgence is a thing. Who could’ve predicted that it would be nearly out selling CD’s?! Amazing.
I disagree that you need to spend thousands to get the most out of vinyl. I bought a Rega P25 roughly 20 years ago and still enjoy it. I don’t play vinyl a lot but do enjoy it from time to time. I enjoy vintage vinyl because there are recordings you will never find on cd. New vinyl is kind of a mixed bag sadly as they often come from digital masters that don’t preserve the proper dynamic range. So fair warning.
It can still be fun because as great as digital has gotten there’s something an analog playback system does that just sounds more real.
It can also be a pain from time to time. Cartridges don’t last forever and good ones can get expensive. Stylus can be damaged from rough handling and drunken cleaning sessions with swiffers. ( yep, I did that!)
It’s definitely not as convenient but digital can be a pain in the ass too. ( cataloguing and indexing music is still not as intuitive or as simple as it could be.)
I like Rega and recommend them. My brother got a U-turn Orbit and likes it.
Phono preamps can be inexpensive like the Schiit Mani. I built the Bottlehead Reduction tube phono preamp kit and it sounds really good.
Is there a reliable way to decipher what records are actually analog and not digital conversions? Are there particular online vendors who sort that out for you?
Another issue with vinyl is that with digital, I only listen to tracks I like. With Roon, if I go to an album, I click on “play favorites”. Thus with vinyl, I’ll need to focus on albums that I like all the way through. I love 1950’s and 60’s jazz recordings, just about anything with “midnight” in the album title. Relaxed type acoustic jazz. Are those sort of records easily, and affordably available from analog masters? Or do they cost $750 each as rarities?
For instance, Kenny Burrell’s “Midnight Blue” is a favorite. Is that easily obtainable on a record that’s not from a digital version?
