Gee, so complicated! Music Direct sells the 75th Anniversary edition of Midnight Blue, a Blue Note version, for like $22. They are out, but say it’s on order from the manufacturer. Is that a legit version?
You got a link?
~$500 seems like a good starting point. I recall (re-)getting into vinyl with a sub $400 music hall tt about 20 years ago.
I hope this doesn’t sound like a rant but the title of this thread worries me that the message is that if you don’t have deep pockets stick to TIDAL or hires downloads and a fancy DAC. I would suggest that if “the point” is enjoying music, quit stressing about if it is equal or better than digital and enjoy it for what it is. It’s different and not a competition - you can enjoy both. Scratch the itch. When the pandemic is over, hit you thrift store and buy 20 LPs for peanuts that aren’t audiophile reprints but maybe spark your interest. Don’t be surprised if they still get your toe tapping or even raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Enjoy the tactile nature of the media and the liner notes. The secret is to enjoy the music which can be done listening to 78s and don’t worry if someone re-recorded it in super hi-res half a century later. Just my 2c. Hope you give it a go - you can always sell the TT if it’s not for you.
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100%… vinyl is only partly about the sound. It’s so much more than that, it’s an entire experience, there’s something to the extra care needed on the records, the slightly obsessive meticulous extra case covers and inner covers, having to turn half way, spending an age researching just the right version you’re after… to some this may sound like negatives, but not at all to me, it’s so utterly rewarding.
The excitement I get when I’ve found the copy I’m after and it arrives in the post makes me feel like a young boy, it’s crazy. I never got that experience from CD or digital (or tape).
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Yes, the title does say what you’ve interpreted. Except the title isn’t a statement, but rather a question. The question being does entry level vinyl sound good? I’ve read in various places that a comparable vinyl system SQ wise costs 3 times more than the same SQ in a digital setup. Hence my inquiry, to explore what the consigliere here think.
Back in the 1990’s I used to trade legal bootleg CD’s on the Grateful Dead USENET forum. The deeper I got into it I’d find myself receiving 30 CD’s in the mail per month. Prior to that venture, I’d get a single great show once in a great while, not 30 in a single month. Getting more all at once absolutely decreased my enjoyment level. Rather than having one new recording to savor for months, I had the burden of feeling I needed to quickly get through the 30 recordings, because there would be 30 more the next month. It was a situation in which more did not equate to more enjoyment.
And now with Tidal, it’s overwhelming. 60M tracks!
A part of my interest in vinyl is to return to simpler days when music was savored more slowly. By no means abandoning digital, it’s still great.
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Again you have set it up as a competition. Yes, it will sound good, even great. It will be wonderful. Why does it need to be comparable, when it apples and oranges. Why deny yourself the enjoyment? If it floats your boat as it does me and SpyderTracks, you’re on to a winner.
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That’s not my intention. My goal was more of a comparison, than a competition. To determine if it was worth going the $500 to $1000 turntable route. Audiophile forums such as this one are great places to hear highly educated comparative opinions.
The competition part is your own interpretation.
Perhaps I misread the question, but it seems you would not be happy (i.e., there’s no point) with a system that’s not comparable to your current digital rig? I was simply saying that you might just want to enjoy it for what it is.
Haha, that would make too much sense. I will remind you, dear sir, that I am in part a kooky audiophile 
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It’s all fun and games until you convince yourself you need to spend $3000 on one of these:
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It obviously won’t be as good, but there’s a great (hopefully) kickstarter for a low cost sonic option:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/humminguru/humminguru-all-in-one-ultrasonic-vinyl-record-cleaner/comments
yeeeaaaahhh i couldn’t wait until July 
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Looks really good. I’ve done quite a lot of research into it and it’s definitely legit.
oh my god I love it.
Got it today.
It is soooooo good.
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That’s a question for you to ask the seller, but from the listing, yes. I’d go for it at $20 and shipping USPS Media Mail.
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At least, that’s true imo if you don’t concentrate on explicit characteristics only.
You will only explore how much better some (by far not all) vinyl masterings are done (in case your rig reveals it) and how analog sounds at your price level. The latter will be more or less completely different from what analog sounds like at the top of the performance range.
It’s as if you want to feel, what car driving means by buying a Toyota Yaris. You will get an impression what it means for that car.
This is true for every product in the known consumer world. All things in material reality can only be what they are 
Lord knows a Toyota Yaris sure beats walking
Correct, except that digital is not walking in that comparison and price range…it’s a different car in the Toyota Yaris class (or in your setup maybe a bit above) there 