Analog vs. CDP: A fair comparison?

Billt1,

In one sense there is no reason to "worry" about a $3K investment in analogue. Vinyl repays significant investments much more convincingly than digital.

But the flip side is also true. Unless you're a skilled DIY-er, vinyl needs more put into it than digital. There are few if any upward spending limits and the temptation to take it further is always there, simply because experience quickly teaches you that the paybacks will be real. Three years ago we questioned our sanity before dropping $6K on our first high end rig. We've since tripled that investment and more. The sonic results surpass digital at any price, but of course the sanity question remains unresolved.

I'd suggest visiting a friend or dealer who has a good quality vinyl setup. Play some familiar CD's to give yourself a feel for the system's character. Then try a few of your LP's. That might give you some sense of what the payoff might be.

Don't do it Bill! Don't listen to the Siren's Song! Contact me about those 150 LP's instead!

Vinyl sucks!

I agree with Doug in that the worry should be minimal. If anyone is especially worried about an audio investment the strategy should be to go used to minimize the potential loss if it doesn't work out. Vinyl is great - come on in - its a lot of fun.

this thread has kind of turned into the first and only thread i started a loonngggggggg time ago.about whether to get involved in vinyl with no record collection to speak of.like pawlawski i am intrigued by the whole tweaking and trying scene of vinyl.pretty sure i am ready to take the plunge now and just plod along as i can afford things.unlikely i will give up on my digital stuff as sometimes i am sure it will be convenient to plug and play so to speak.cheers.

Excellent advice from Maineiac re: buying used. Audiogon and ebay give us ways to audition stuff with small financial risk. For example, we recently upgraded our I/C's and speaker cables to a level we might never have reached if we'd had to buy new. We love the results, but if we hadn't we could have re-sold them for about what we paid.

There is one possible exception: cartridges. Unless you have reasons to trust the seller that go beyond a good feedback number, buying used cartridges is risky. I've had both good luck and bad, but if your first attempt went bad it might sour you on the whole thing. Don't buy used cartridges unless you know what you're doing and/or know the seller.