To venture back into vinyl or not,...that is the question.

Yep ebm is right. To these ears, Vinyl rules. I personally prefer belt-drive tables over direct drive. Had a vinyl system many years ago, the magic amplified by MFA MC Reference preamp and ARC Classic 150 monoblocs. I just couldn’t stop buying records because the sound was magic for me. Never been able to equal that sound overall for musical enjoyment, although my system is pretty resolving.

if one can spare the money, and doesn’t mind the extra bit of work involved, I think it’s well worth it. One of these days I will rebuild a vinyl system again, Godwilling.

Not.

Save your money. I get the nostalgia part, but other than that vinyl is less accurate, noisy, inconvenient, a space hog, and an incredible waste of money compared to streaming. I'd find a hobby that makes more sense from a cost/benefit ratio. Or invest the savings.

This coming from someone who grew up with vinyl and got rid of hundreds of LPs thirty years ago. Why go backwards? My whole system is now voice-controlled. It's accurate, takes no space and is the epitome of convenience. You wouldn't go back to an avocado refrigerator and pastel bathroom, would you?

If all you want to spend is $500, you best stick with CD resolution.

jssmith, you have not a romantic bone in your body. Do you have sex with a robot?

At $500 CDs are better.

At .... I don’t know, $2,000 and up, $4,000 and up?, vinyl is better.

Jssmith, I grew up with vinyl. My first LP was The Rolling Stones 12 x 5, age 9. Since then I’ve added 6,000+ LPs, About 200 45s, and 300 78s. I listen to CDs when I have to. The other day I put on a Frank Sinatra LP recorded in 1954. It sounded a little gritty even though it was sealed, just opened, brand new. I figured oh no, I hope I didn’t buy a digitally remastered press. I looked on the notes on the back and sure enough it was.

I can’t imagine streaming. 

“Accurate?” I guess that depends on what the meaning of the word accurate is. Imho quality analogue beats quality digital every time.

No offense intended to anyone, but I must say that I have always found it perplexing, and not a little silly, when specific $ amounts are attached to a price point when all of a sudden it is “worth it” to do this or that. There are so many variables: the specific gear in question, synergy with ancillary components, expertise in set up, the particular listener’s sensitivity to and/or preference for the very real fundamental differences in the sound of each playback medium (regardless of cost). Sure, I’ve heard $4K CD players that, on balance, sound better than some $500 turntables. However, I have also heard meticulously chosen and set up $500 tt setups that I would much rather listen to than some $4K CD players in their respective systems and set up.