Moving from CD to analog


Hello

I have always used CD as my front end and I am now looking to change to an analog front end. My system is a Gryphon Mirage preamp, Gryphon Colosseum power amp and Rockport Ankka speakers. My budget is 16K and would welcome any advise on TT, tone arms, phono stages and cartridges. I have no experience in this field so any help would be very much welcomed.
Kind Regards
Matt Hoult.
matthewhoult
04-15-13: Wolf_garcia

Thank you for your kind response.
I will of course plan to keep all my CD's I have collected so many over the years and they mean a great deal to me. I have made a digital copy and they are stored on a hard drive, a painful but necessary process and you are correct the physical media is the best back up. The Linn have a great name in the world of vinyl they have been producing turntables for a long time and are highly regarded.
04-15-13: Jperry
Thank you for your reply.
I have not heard of Basis turntables I will check the website out and read some reviews, thank you.
04-15-13: Jrb25
Hello and thank you for your comments.

This is something I have not considered until you mentioned it.
I do most of my listening at the end of the day mostly at night from about 9pm onwards and sometimes fall asleep listening to music via CD, this would be impossible using vinyl especially when listening to a 45RPM pressing with only 3 tracks a side.

I plan to keep my digital front end as well as creating an analogue system as you say all formats have their virtues. I guess the picking of the record removing it from the sleeve putting it on the turntable and flipping the record every 20 mins is the part of the enjoyment of using vinyl, after all you could always put a CD on when you just can't be bothered with the fuss?
04-15-13: Lewm
Thanks for your great response.
My budget of 16k must include a turntable, tonearm, cartridge and phono stage so although it seams allot of money to invest it does not go far in the world of high end audio components. I will search the used market as the new list prices are just way too high and audio equipment is always very well looked after, you can buy high quality used equipment for a fraction of the new list price.

I will consider the tables you have recommended and search the market accordingly, and you are right I will steer clear of the low-middle market as those company's may limit my current systems capabilities.

Thanks again for the advise.
It may be difficult today to find a dealership where you can demo and compare several turntables. There is only one guy that I know of in Cleveland. He has no storefront and works on an appointment only basis. As a vinyl novice, I might be inclined to get a good turntable, arm and matched cartridge combo, such as a Clearaudio Ovation or Performance, or a VPI Classic or Scout package. You need to read the reviews to appreciate the quality of these turntables, and your choice would likely be determined more by the matching cartridge and arm, the latter being gimbal, magnetic or unipivot. In addition to great sound, compatibility and relative ease of setup and maintenance are potential hallmarks of these systems. It has been my experience that these manufacturers are quite helpful with information regarding their products. I wish you the best with your vinyl experience. GK