Cost Incurred to Achieve a Vinyl LP Replay


As a Long Term user of the Vinyl LP as a Source, as well as being one who has ventured into discovering and experiencing how fellow enthusiasts have developed their own interest in Vinyl replays. I have got to a place where limited to my experiences only, most I have encountered have over many years have been constrained in their budgets for the Ancillaries required to replay a Vinyl LP.

A few have exceeded the approx' £30K mark for a TT > Tonearm > Cartridge, and fewer from this selection are using dedicated Electronics with a Value of more than £10K to support the Source. 

My most typical experiences are of Ancillaries and Electronics used to support a Vinyl Replay with a combined cost of between approx' £6K - 16K.

I have been demo'd through being at commercial events, Ancillaries and Electronics that far exceed the above Values, but as these demo's are not from a familiar system and have been quite some time in the past these experiences have not been considered as being of importance or contributing to shaping how my present methods are I place to replay a Vinyl LP. 

What I have also become quite aware of, as a result of sharing and receiving accounts of Past Experiences, is that 'dye in the wool' Vinyl Replay Enthusiasts have been active at different levels in their trying out or introducing new ancillaries to get to a place where they are believing that most contentment can be found for their own unique preferences for a produced sonic.

My own endeavours has been to remain with a Particular ancillary and look to have it overhauled, where a modern approach is used to produce a end product that has materials and electronics selected and utilised to transform the ancillary into something that is noticeably different for the better over the original. As such methods are Bespoke, it is difficult to have the methods understood by a onlooker.

My experiences shared have introduced myself to like minded individuals in the flesh and through Global Forum communications. 

I do belive adopted methods to produce Bespoke ancillaries are capable of producing performance that will be more aligned to ancillaries costing much more if using a Branded Item is the guideline, as a selection of materials and adopted methods for these materials can be found in the more recent marketed products. . 

For myself Vinyl Replay is a method to supply a form of entertainment The use of ancillaries to create this entertainment is a must. The learning that is to be attained as a result of using the Ancillaries creates what is more aligned with being a hobby.

The question that is a vaguery, is how much monies, from a range of approx', £3K ($3.2K) - (£350K ($400K) does one feel justified in spending/believes needs to be spent, to satisfy their hobby (lessons learned) needs and need to be entertained (enjoyment of listening to music) .

It is without doubt, there will be 

 fewer reading this, that will be experienced with and able to comment on the 50K and upward ancillaries, it would be good to see what is to be shared. 

 

128x128pindac

@hilde45 I thought the AI interpretation was fairly accurate but according to the OP, it was not. Fair enough. Bit rude not to acknowledge your apology.

Nevertheless, in keeping with the spirit of my understanding of the post, my vinyl solution of turntable, 2 tonearms, 2 cartridges, and phono amplification (in one system) comes in around $11k. This doesn't include the amps and speakers. It seems to achieve a large percentage of what I imagine a more expensive system costs, and because of that, I’m somewhat reluctant to change it.

@noromance I was interested that he/she/they said that the AI interpretation was not accurate. I was curious about that. Also interesting to hear that you thought that it was. So, you and ChatGPT have a similar understanding and the author differs from both of you. Probably why there were questions asking for clarification further on the thread.

OP, you're welcome to be as prolix as you wish; the only way to measure the value of that is by reader reaction, assuming that matters. Prolixity is defined as "the state or quality of being unnecessarily or tediously wordy; verbosity." If that's your aim, well, it's a free country!

I must admit the AI version was an order of magnitude easier to understand and short enough that my addled mind could comprehend. I am starting to see that AI can complement everyone.

@pindac 

I think I take what you would consider to be a very disciplined and controlled approach to vinyl playback. Inclusive of one cartridge and including the turntable, tonearm and phono stage I have spent a total of $35,000. IMHO spending more is an ego centric thing and is unlikely to gain much in performance. I might also add that I can afford to buy any turntable made and available today, but since I am not susceptible to to cost and looks traps I do not see the value in it. I'd rather buy music or another mode of transportation. I also have no problem with high resolution digital and I do not think Vinyl playback is inherently better.