Would I be wasting my money to get a turntable?


I am thinking about getting a turntable but I have a Class D amplifier (Nad M33) which digitizes all the analog inputs. If the amplifier is just digitizing the source is there going to be any difference between the vinyl and just listening to lossless digital streaming sources? Is there any benefit to me, given my current amplifier with has no analog pass through capability, to adding a turntable to my system?

fritzenheimer

A cool turntable, even if you don't use it, will impress others and make you seem more interesting than you actually are.

@thecarpathian Good point, if he had an external phono stage, would it be analog signal or the M33 would still convert it to digital?

A cool turntable, even if you don't use it, will impress others

it's way cheaper than an Alfa Romeo, so yes, a pretty compelling argument

Whathifi rates the internal phono section highly, though it's not clear as to what deck and cartridge (MM/MC?) they used.

They mention "Thorens" but when I clicked on their various test rooms/systems I could not find a Thorens listed.

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/nad-masters-m33

 

DeKay

 

garbage in = garbage out no matter the source. Just like there are garbage LP's, there are garbage streams as well.  Sometimes they are the same thing. 

So your m33 converts everything to digital, so what? Vinyl will sound like vinyl, just with a digital edge? Don't know until you try it. Might be awesome.

Vinyl is what got me back into audio a couple years ago. Have always had a stereo, but it turned into HT a couple decades ago, was always ok with music. My girl is into records, we decided to get a dedicated 2ch setup.

Got the standard $500 TT, upgraded that all the way, including a $400 cartridge. Then splurged on a $2000 TT with a $700 cartridge. It's been blissful. Except for when I destroyed the new cartridge needle after getting it caught on a towel after cleaning the TT, that was a $500 ouch. My point is, TT is all analog, it requires a lot of maintenance, attention and setup. 

Now we move on to records, yes, they are expensive and going up! 2 years ago, new records were $20-25, used would be $10-30 (on average) Now all new records are $30-35, used start over $20. They take up a LOT of space. Now you got all these records, you got to keep them clean (lots of time and money) get a ultrasonic cleaner $1000, then get new sleeves for the outer and inner record, you are not going to put clean records in dirty selves. expect to spend about $2 per record for that. 

Records are a labor of love, they take a lot of time, effort, and dedication. They change how you listen to music. As you tend to spin a record, and listen to the entire album. Oh, you get up every 20min to change it. 

We haven't even touched on sound quality, on my system vinyl sounds better over streaming, but I have a vintage setup, with a lower end streamer. Feel you got to spend at least the same or a little more on the TT setup to get the same level as your digital.