There is no tipping point. Records are better, period. I’ve written a zillion times how shocked my wife and I both were when I dug my beat up old Technics out of the garage, hooked it up just to see, and heard music far more warm and inviting than my five times as expensive CDP. I’ve also done demo’s and the only ones who ever even hesitate to prefer records are audiophiles. Normal people who know nothing about anything except what they like always prefer records.
But I’m audiophile enough to know where the "tipping point" thing comes from. Digital does a really good job of fooling people into thinking its more detailed and dynamic. Most audiophiles think the only valid comparison is flipping rapidly back and forth between identical snippets of the same track. If that is all you do then the tipping point thing is understandable and easy to explain.
CD is really good at transients and leading edges. Its grainy and coarse, the opposite of liquid. But this grain is easily mistaken for detail. Only the really expensive top end digital starts to approach the naturally smooth liquid ease of vinyl. Records on the other hand, its easy to get a rig that sounds nice and full and warm, but very expensive to dig out all the wealth of rich inner detail (so much you can’t believe!) that lies buried in the grooves.
Because so much of what we hear is digital, and because everyone has been indoctrinated to the fantasy that digital is flat and neutral and perfect, it is by default what most think of as "good". Well if that is your standard, all that etched exaggerated detail, its going to take a pretty darn fine rig to get there. At that aspect of it, anyway. At warmth on the other hand, forget about it.
This is where the snippets come in. If you sit and relax and play side after side, after a while your brain loses touch with the crazy notion that etch is detail, vinyl sounds great, and its going back that is hard to take.
For a great example of this look at the comments on my system page.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 I have no intention of adding a turntable no matter how good it sounds. While I was there I found myself wanting a dryer more clinical presentation but listening to my system just now there seems to be so much missing that was present in your system.
Classic example! Exactly what I’m talking about!
So my advice is, get whatever turntable/arm/cart you like but do not try and make it sound like digital! Enjoy the wonderful balance analog naturally loves to hit between detail and warmth. Do this and the further up the food chain you go the more of both you will get. Also realize that with records the turntable, arm, cartridge, and phono stage are all equal.
That does not mean spend the same amount on each. Although it could. What it means is if you get a nice rig like oldhvymec recommends, or heck any $3k rig for that matter, and run it through the phono card in your Luxman, expect to be shocked how much better it will be with a good quality stand alone phono stage.
You’re probably smart to start like you plan, using the Luxman. Avoid low output MC. Anything below about 0.5mV only makes the phono stage challenge harder. Get some nice medium output (.6-.8mV, something like that) and you will be in great shape should you want to upgrade your phono stage to something like the Decware ZP3
https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm That front end, on some Nobsound springs, or even better Townshend Pods, and with some quality wire, will shame just about any digital you can find at just about any price with mega-warmth, incredible detail, and emotional involvement no bits will ever be able to match.
