great vinyl sound cost as much as great cd sound

MarkD51-
It's more than just having a dirty lp. The record cleaning machines get rid of the static, cleaning up the playback noticably. With your 450 lps I would definately purchase a decent lp cleaner. The sleeves seem to produce static electricity no matter how good they are. I knife out two ends of my sleeves so that the lp does not need to rub when I take it out. Instead I open the sleeve. Reduces static. The ZeroDust gun only seems to only partially help with the lp static. I also use a Staticmaster brush (rather ancient device that still works after 25 years) to rid the lp of static. I would like to hear your ideas about this static issue.
John (sit)

Another way to look at this is if you have some great classical or public stations get a great analog tuner and a good antenna (at least as important as the tuner) and listen while someone else spins their collection for you. Just a thought since you seem to be putting off your vinyl addiction.

Dave I've been curious about the Audio Consulting stuff...thanks for the pointer.

Markd51 thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts.