Newbie to Vinyl Seeks Tips

@pinwa How has it worked out since your last post? 

@noromance Good question.  Mostly it hasn't.  As I suspected, I find the whole process of playing vinyl to be less than satisfying.  I know a lot of people find the ritual of taking an album out of the case, cleaning it, and lowering the needle and then sitting back for 20 minutes devoting your full attention to the music to be rewarding but mostly I think all of that is frustrating.  But my guess is that isn't really what you were asking.  And all of my points below should be taken in the context of the fact that I still have very limited experience playing records since it isn't something I do often.

A different sound quality is the reason I wanted to try vinyl and my experience with that is hit or miss.  Listening carefully is a challenge because level matching is difficult even with a SPL meter but I do my best. 

Modern records often sound nearly identical to digital sources.  The records that sound significantly different are bolder, more dynamic and brasher.  Going back and forth between streaming and vinyl often leaves me scratching my head about which I prefer and wondering which is truer to the artists intention.  Streaming seems to recess the instruments a bit and bring the vocals forward but maybe it is just more compressed.  Vinyl sometimes almost seems like an exaggerated presentation .  And since I have a very basic vinyl setup I wonder how much of that coarseness, for lack of a better word, is just the turntable and phono amp.

Older records often shine because the streaming source seems so flat and uninteresting.  My guess is this is what drives most of the enthusiasts for vinyl, and it is hard to argue that records don't sound better for older material where streaming sounds bad.  On the other hand, the second hand older albums I have are plagued with snaps, crackles and pops that I find very distracting.  I've tried different types of cleaning without finding something that "fixes" them.  Mostly I play very current music so streaming is fine for that.

And on the topic of noise, well even brand new vinyl sounds noisy to me.  I just bought Ada Lea's "one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden" and there is a low level of hiss on the quiet passages and the occasional pop. I find that distracting/disturbing.  And this is an album where there is a big difference between streaming and vinyl but I simply couldn't decide which I liked better.

And since I use Roon, I really like its ability to play the lyrics on my tv while the song is playing.  When I play a record I often set the album going in Roon just to be able to see the lyrics.  Of course, skipping over a track I don't like simply isn't an option with vinyl.

Bottom line is I don't think I'll be a convert to vinyl anytime soon but I will enjoy playing a record from time to time but I don't like it enough to pay the often ridiculous prices for old, much less new, albums.

My latest experiment is with playing SACDs.  So far no conclusions about that at all other than an enormous sense of frustration at how expensive and difficult to source most SACDs are.  Since so little material is available as an SACD that will never be a big part of my listening even if I decide I love it.

Forgive my rambling answer to your short question LOL.

actually OP your response is astute and discerning. I have LP, ripped files to a server, high rez downloads, streaming ( you might like Hi Rez files on Qobuz ), 3 or 4 turntable ( i lost count ) and high speed half track tape. All formats have sonic virtue and relative weakness. Cast a wide net on opinions. Build your own expertise, sounds like you have been on a grand journey so far.
best to you!
also, listen to @whart he is consummate statesman !

Label protector, lukewarm water, painters corner paint rectangle pad,
I Roy soap, or a very small bit of Dawn dish soap.

 When rinsing, slowly turn water on, so only water comes out in a non aerated stream. If aerated, the water won’t get in to rinse the grooves. 
 I hooked up my shop vac attachment with felt pads from a hardware store, slowly go round, sucking up everything.

 Works a dandy for me. 
 Spend the cash if you want, on a cleaning machine.

 Patience, level TT, anti skate, weight of headshell on LP, 
trial and error.
have fun, enjoy the tunes.