D-Edwards,
2'000 - 3'000 "analogic" people ? Where ?
I must say that like everyone, I enjoy all the practical advantages of digital gear, simple clic, etc
I just say that I enjoy more analogic sound than digital, owing very good gear in both fields : so, I still listen to analogic and buy LP's - less than CD's and SACD's, that's true (choice and practical advantages).
I have around 1'000 LP's and 1'000 CD's & SACD's.
One thing is sure : it takes pretty much money to have a very good analogic gear : turntable, tonearm and cartridge.
But, as I said, for me, I spent as much money in my CD/SACD player (Accuphase DP85 I love) as in my analogic stuff Michell Orbe, Rega RB1000 and Lyra Titan (if I except, my analogic preamplifier, a Lamm LP2, I must say).
I believe that you can have a very good analogic sound with 7'000$ (turntable, tonearm, cartridge, for new stuff.
Less - possibly much less - if you find good used stuff.
Of course, if you spend more money you will have something even better : but over a certain level, price, the improvement is much less obvious than the the increase of the bill...
Something else : there is a beauty in turntable, tonearm, cartridge similar to the one of a great mechanical watch compared with a quartz one. Some people are sensitive to that, but it's probably true that most people who own both analogic and digital gear are older than those who were born at the digital era.
There may be a nostalgic feeling towards the "original" sound, the analogic sound we have been used to as children and teenagers !
Eventually, I understand perfectly well people who prefer digital, its dynamics, for instance.
I just say that I prefer analogic simply because it sounds closer to reality to my ears.