Do I need a pre-amp?

On websites like Needle Doctor, when you choose a budget TT which includes tonearm aND cart, you have access to suitable phonostages.

"As for the rest of it, its good to know how you do things. Its like a carefully plotted course that we should all follow."

Zd542, Why the snarky sarcasm? My point was simply why would OP allocate money to a frill like a TT when he appears less than satisfied his more basic audio components. And before you or Inna give me a lecture on a man's right to spend his money as he sees fit, I agree with you.

db

Take a look at the phono preamps on Needle Doctor. As far as NAD, it seems decent, but don't choose a phonostage until you have a TT and a cartridge selected. They need to match.

For a TT, look at the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC, a good entry level into vinyl. You can read abut it in the archives.

"Zd542, Why the snarky sarcasm? My point was simply why would OP allocate money to a frill like a TT when he appears less than satisfied his more basic audio components."

Since when is a TT a frill component? People on this web site sell cables that cost thousands of dollars to upgrade to new cables that cost even more thousands of dollars. Very few people call frill on that. Also, the OP doesn’t say he's unhappy, he wants to upgrade his system.

It doesn't cost a lot to get a good sounding TT. It also doesn't cost a lot to go on ebay and get large collections of records, in very good shape, for not much either. Maybe the OP wants to build his collection. Its not like you can go to a store and buy a CD any more.

Hey gang. Thanks for all the feedback. Little surprised to have to offer this justification here, haha, but in order of importance, here are my main motivations for the move to vinyl:

1) The sound - I favor analog's fullness to digital's cleanliness. I realize an analog amp is ideal, but due to financial considerations, it doesn't really make sense for me to make that jump today, probably. As zd542 wisely said, you have to start somewhere. 

2) The tactile experience of playing a record - It's different. You put the needle down and let it rip. There's no poking around and selecting favorite tracks. Listeners tend to hear a whole album as made by the artist 

3) The catalogue - Lots of old vinyl music isn't readily available in other formats

That said, I also love digital and have no intention of abandoning it. But with the opportunity for both digital and analog listening, this seems like a rare instance where one can have his cake and eat it too. No?

I think I'll follow the suggestions for a modern tt, considering I don't really know what I'm doing. I would love to be in the $300-400 range, but if I could snag a used tt below that, it would help free up some cash and could help motivate me to buy an analog amp. Speaking of which....

If I were to abandon my Marantz and pick up a solid analog amp, about how much would I need to spend, minimally? My setup is a pair of B&W 600 series floor-standing speakers + a separate B&W subwoofer. The speakers only contain a single woofer each so the separate sub is necessary, for my sound preferences. They are connected to the Marantz w some really fat bi-wire cables and the sound is excellent. At max vol, the Marantz isn't powerful enough to distort the B&Ws. I'm really happy with it but can only imagine if these speakers were connected to a solid analog source. 

So here's where I am today:

I can buy a tt + phono preamp for $5-600 +/-. Right? However when the time comes to buy an analog amp, I'll presumably eliminate the phono stage, which won't have much resale value, right? So maybe I should just splurge for the amp today. But what would I need to spend in order to match my setup? Also, is there a configuration that will allow me to keep the Marantz for my digital sources and switch to the analog amp for my tt? Also, what kind of analog amp will accommodate my subwoofer?

Thanks for helping the n00b!