Equal $$ for Phono OR Streaming?

Let’s look at this logically, the amount you are willing to spend on either idea should be the answer to the question.  If you have good speakers and a good amplifier you will only get good sound. (Not Great) I was in the same position and chose to go with a NAD streaming amp with a built in DAC.  Even with a great turntable which would cost so much more than you want to spend, you will still only get the sound reproduction equal to the rest of your equipment.  Streaming will give you good audio reproduction and so much more music to choose from at a monthly cost which would be less than the cost on one album.  Probably with at least equal sound. I think streaming is the future of audio for the masses. Once you reach a point where you can spend whatever you want, you decision might change.  My ears are not that great and my system sounds as good as I can hear.  Total cost for everything $20,000.

@sbank I have discussed these various user experience factors with my friend and he has  an equal appetite for either way of listening to music. What he would like to know is whether he should spend his money on digital or analog in the four to $6000 range. The rest of it will follow and he is open to it and he is going into it with his eyes wide open. Thank you for the your nice comment about the thread.

@hilde45

one additional, central point i would make (in reply to some other comments in this nice thread you have started) is that since i decided to tackle streaming this time last year since covid started, i very much believe that streamed music (using proper tidal, qobuz or other suitable lossless service) is absolutely able to deliver music at a superb quality into a well chosen downstream system ... to a point where the emotion-stirring nature of well recorded content will come through to thrill and move the listener

there is no doubt in my mind this is the case with presently available gear, and at quite a reasonable cost - in fact, a blue sound node 2i feeding an ayre codex or mhdt istanbul or a schiit gumby will do ’the trick’ (~$1500)

turntables are NOT needed to achieve the above - though one can argue the best tt’s may do it a touch better -- just as top-tier cd players have also been able to produce the desired goods for years now...

those who deny the above are either hopelessly stuck in their ways, can't see past what they have personally invested in in this hobby, and/or haven't tried streaming or done it properly

@jjss49

streamed music (using proper tidal, qobuz or other suitable lossless service) is absolutely able to deliver music at a superb quality into a well chosen downstream system ... to a point where the emotion-stirring nature of well recorded content will come through to thrill and move the listener

there is no doubt in my mind this is the case with presently available gear, and at quite a reasonable cost

I absolutely agree for my own ears and sonic tastes. I’m 56 and I grew up with turntables, and I’ve listened to them through the early 2000s. I’ve heard great ones. The comments by the analog-is-the-only-way people make me very curious to see what I may have overlooked (about what I’m able to discern) but the overall phono-path is too burdensome for me.

That said, the system I’ve built over the past year has transfixed me at times; I get completely lost in the music, hear tremendous things, and don’t find myself with a "grass is always greener" bugaboo gnawing at me in my listening position. I heeded advice about getting an R2R DAC and while I’m curious about how "lowly" my Node 2i is, I do recognize the warnings about how quickly streaming technology (in contrast to DACs) is evolving. If there is one thing which shows me I’m not "done" with digital, is the occasional DSD files I’ve heard. In a few years, after I’ve dialed in my room or settled into a new one, a much better streamer (and DAC, possibly) is on the short list, but until the room’s impact is addressed, it’s not my priority. My friend may very well read some of the more economical suggestions here and decide that savings should not be spent on trying to do *both* digital and analog, and should instead go toward the room.