Considering going Vinyl--Please talk me out of it

Michael: Think about this ... Vinyl and CD's are reflective of lifestyles .

The Boomers grew up on vinyl playback. Parents taught childern the do's and don't of record playing from the time kids could flip the black orbs without sending them to the trash bin. Vinyl by its very nature in the present tense, requires a significant investment of time , money & patience. CD's require no special skill-set and the playback equipment is cheap.

The fact you questioned..."Do I or Don't I"...tells me your not committed , so avoid the bridge scene... Don't jump just walk away. Besides , you can always visit your friends that own vinyl and buy them out whenever they begin to speak about tall buildings or bridges.

Here is a constructive suggestion. Go to a good high end dealership and challenge them to show you how good vinyl can sound. Listen. Your ears. Then check out how much money you would need to spend, and don't forget the extras like a RCM. Then, you decide.

I have a decent vinyl playback setup, but am troubled by various imperfections and nuisances. Some people on this site and elsewhere suggested that if I would only upgrade I would find vinyl to be near-perfect. I used the method described above and came to the conclusion that what I consider a slight improvement could be obtained using about $50,000 of equipment. You can guess how I decided. Your results may differ.

if you can tolerate the surface noise from older records there's no reason not to at least get a thorens with a $150 cartridge. alblums are nice to hold and look at/read while you listen- unlike cd's with those horrid little booklets i rarely pull out. records provide music in bite-sized chunks unlike 75 minute cd's that never seem to come to an end. one record dealer once stated that the entire package of cover pictures, sleeve, and lp was in a sense a work of art in itself. not that i don't cherish a well-recorded cd, but the package doesn't inspire much of anything; it's just there to protect the playing surface. as for all of the accessories and machinery for playing records, it used to be affordable (a dual 1229q, a thorens td-160, an AR turntable, etc.) but while i now have a VPI ARIES, i have only a weak attraction towards getting a $10k (or more) turntable, only to play a record i bought for $3 and vacuumed once or twice.
other than mikey fremer, i haven't heard too many people with EXPENSIVE record players properly describe what is so special about the medium at that VERY high level. OTOH, i have heard alot of very high-end digital and it sounds pretty convincing to me, although it is ridiculously expensive as well (see- Esoteric separates for a rude awakening to extremism in that direction). goldmund has a nice player that costs $75k and they will engrave your name on your limited-edition copy (gee, should i get one or not??).

If you want less hassle, get a boom-box. Extremely convenient. All you need in a stereo system in one box. I've heard that they even come with a remote. Some of them have detachable speakers, so you can expand the soundstage all you want at any time. Very hassle free. And the sound? Very boomy (hence the name), just like your neighbor likes it. What about black backgrounds, silky highs and tight bottom octaves? All in there, in the box.

Now, it you want every listening experience to be priceless, get a nice turntable and buy just new records. Only a good concert hall and a middle seat can match the listening experience of a well set up turntable.

I think we've become a very accommodated society and we usually end up paying big bucks for convenience, not quality. Most of my purchases are delivered to my door, so I feel that a little bit of exercise while turning the record over is good for my health.

Regards,

iSanchez

Gee, I just met a bunch of very interesting and entertaining people by asking essential questions about vinyl; its like the people I've met while on a sailboat--only cheaper! Really, it is cheaper, isn't it? Isn't it?...tell me it is..........