Want to get into Analog

^^^ You should read the thread I started called "Vinyl,What If"....Very eye opening...

A Technics SL-1200 would be a good start. Plenty of them listed on Ebay!

Freediver, I’m glad you posted on Mrpostfire’s thread as I was going to respond to yours, but by then you seemed to have made your decision to not try vinyl. I followed your thread and as I read Mrpostfire’s OP I searched for a way to describe what I feel was not conveyed nearly well enough in most of the responses to yours. Mrpostfire, I hope you don’t mind the “dual purpose” of my post on your thread.

Freediver stated that the comments to his thread were “eye opening”. I would say that the vinyl experience can also be eye opening and I would be the last to discourage anyone from trying it as many posters unfortunately did.

For me and many others, there is a fundamental difference in the way that vinyl presents recorded music in contrast to the way that digital does it. I know some will disagree with this premise as well as the idea that it is not necessary to invest in very expensive, or SOTA playback equipment to hear (and feel) this fundamental difference. Both can sound great while retaining their fundamentally different ways of sounding great. IMO, even at freediver’s $350 budget that fundamental difference will be there. That fundamental difference resonates with some listeners and not as much with others. A very personal matter; but, when that difference resonates it can trump other aspects of the listening experience that are mostly audiophillic in nature and, for some, not as important to the music. Unless one tries it there is no way of knowing.

There were and will be lots of different suggestions for tables. Looking through the listings here this caught my eye. As offered, this table is a good example of what is possible within Freediver’s general budget. IMO, it would give a good taste of what vinyl does well. With a well chosen cartridge upgrade and closer to Mrpostfire’s budget it would give a bigger taste; possibly much bigger taste. Yes, the fiddling that Freediver doesn’t want to do can make an important difference, but it is not necessary to find out if the difference resonates with you. (No affiliation to seller).

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis9c4hd-thorens-td-166-mkii-turntables

Good luck to both of you and do try vinyl; it can be eye opening.