Is analog & vinyl anoying? Is it worht it.

And yes Viridian, I agree with you as well, However let's not leave the master tapes out of the equation! :-)
Only thing my TT is missing is an analog to digital converter, so I can run it thru my DAC, and 'smooth out the sound' a bit!

Hxt1, no need to apologize for vinyl. i no longer listen to cd's, it is vinyl or sat radio. soon there will be better servers and better means of receiving, but to me cd's are a dead issue. i never liked ipods or mp3's either. high bit rate streaming video and music next future, but untill then it remains vinyl! the set up, treatment and handling of vinyl is part of the ride. oh and Eldartford is just jealous. so enjoy.

"...it is vinyl or sat radio..."
Why hasn't sat radio brought back the high end tuner. ?

My point is that the audio signal is probably digital from just after the mic preamps to the LP cutting head..all through the mixing process. The vinyl final product might be thought of as "new wine in old bottles".

But Viridian brings up the point of transducers...mechanical-to-electrical,(Microphones) and electrical-to-mechanical,(speakers). Transducers color sound far more than any other factor. And the LP loop includes two more transducers than CDs (cutting head and cartridge). Unless you count A/D and D/A converters as transducers (a bit of a streach) CDs have only the microphone and speaker to color the sound.

eldatford your first statement is ridiculous. Eighty percent of my records were produced before digital even existed! Yes I have some thin sounding digitally remastered records, what of it? Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses, but I digress; if we read the op's thread he simply asks if it is worth the hassle. Well to all of the turntable owners on this site it is, to all of the people who sotched their tt , it ain't. To endlessly argue whether digital is superior to analog is completley ridiculous and futile... We may as well be arguing whether Pinot is 'better' than merlot!
Or say.... Converters are 'better' than transducers.
Let's bring it back to topic shall we? IMHO vinyl isn't a hassle at all, I see no need to justify my stance, YMMV. Good luck.