I was referring to the "poor man's" delusional nirvana. There is no comparison between the rigs discussed here and the one's we listened to in the 70's. If you are aware of the price of the trip to paradise, enjoy the journey. You will experience new sensations, when you hear those old records on a new rig.
I recently read about an audiophile who owns a new Joule Electra Pre, a CAT amp, and listens exclusively to PC. Vinyl ripped to PC via a megabuck rig, sounds as good coming out, as it did going in. I listen to vinyl and digital via the PC playback list. I can not hear any loss of sonics.
Elizabeth, while I have read about a lot of amps, ARC is the best I have actually heard.
Inna, I never shop for cheap records because my "objects of desire" are too unique; they usually cost $30 or $35. There are people willing to pay $200. for some of my records, I have pointed them out to my heirs.