Wanting to get into Vinyl - Need help

I would seriously question getting into vinyl if you have nothing yet. If you don't have a big vinyl collection already, and don't like to tweak for the fun of it, getting a great digital rig will probably prove to be much more enjoyable. I have read all the talk of analog supremacy, but having spent several thousand on a vinyl rig, I find that my Theta Gen VIII dac and Sony ES player used as a transport is so far superior it isn't even funny. Far more relaxed, musical and involving, a bigger musical library to chose from, and the ability to play songs in any order, and eventually get a music server. I do enjoy the novelty of playing records, and the look of the equipment, much like I enjoy the novelty of a 150 year old clock. But when I want to know what time it is, I look at a quartz clock, and when I just want to enjoy music, I listen to digital. I'm sure when you get to the top of the analog world, the sound is truly wonderful, but if you have no intention of investing at that level, I would say make sure you truly understand why you are doing it, and that the results will provide what you are seeking.

Thanks for your thoughts Honest1. I'll toss out a couple of my reasons for wanting to get into a bit of analog.

I tend to agree with you on the digital aspect. Right now I have my entire CD collection ripped to a PC as WAV files using EAC. Since WAV doesn't support metadata I have painstakingly added each album to the windows media player library database. The PC outputs bit perfect digital which my Rotel AV receiver does the DA conversion. I only went this route after hours of A/B comparison againt my Rotel CD player. It's all very nice and neat, but a bit detached.

So here are my reasons..

1) Poorly masterd/remastered CD's. The loudness war and compression artifacts are becoming annoying and difficult to ignore. I do listen to a fair amount of classic rock, hard rock, and metal. Even older material that was originally recorded on analog is getting the "digitally remastered" treatment.

2) I have a number of great/cheap vinyl sources locally. It should be easy to grow a decent collection on the cheap. Of course I'll probably go broke cleaning them, but what the heck.

3) Although I don't want to have to fidget with a turntable for 15 minutes just to play a record, I do want a more interactive/organic process for playing music when I feel like it.

Right now I fire up the computer, turn on the 54" plasma, and use the air mouse to queue up a bunch of songs. It's very convenient, but a bit sterile. It's not like the old days where put on a piece of vinyl and listened to a whole side at a crack.

4) The unknown.. Who knows.. I may learn that I want/like to tweak :)

I hope this helps to know where I'm coming from.

Congratulations on your decision! There are many folks here who enjoy playing vinyl so you're in good hands; lots of opinions too you can be sure. I have owned Rega P3 ad P25 tables and currently own a Music Hall MM7. which I personally prefer over the Regas, but that's a matter of personal choice. Provided you install a decent catridge iin any of these tables, they will suit your needs well. I have also home auditioned the X-Cans phono stage by Musical Fidelity many years ago and found the sound to be highly agreeable and rewarding. I don't think you can go wrong with your proposed options. Welcome to vinyl!