I don't buy into the upgrade path to sonic Happyland. I have a Scout and a Wright WW200C and I don't plan on going any further. For what I paid, $50 for a 180gm recording is a bad addition to this table, so I buy crap vinyl. A 16.5, however, and a little steam can turn most of those sorry discs into hidden gems. That's no joke. The cleaner paid for itself in no time.
I buy crap CDs, too. So comparing apples to apples, there are times, more often with LPs than with CDs, that the sound just hits all the good buttons. On that finding alone, I give analog the nod--the Scout delivers. And that's good enough.
When I was looking for a table, I believe it was Jaybo who warned me not to look forward to any analog revelation, any sonic orgasmatron to going vinyl. For the most part, he was correct. The differences are subtle, though some are profound, which have mostly to do with the recordings. There is good, bad and ugly in vinyl, just like in digital. I'm a little lighter in the wallet to learn that lesson, but a lot wiser. Still, where I shop, vinyl is cheap and it's fun, and I find it an enjoyable way to wither away an afternoon.
You don't need a honking big table to have fun. A little steam and a 16.5 can make a bad record sound damned nice, and you never have to think once about throwing your cds or your player out the window, or gawd forbid, upgrading. My $.02. YMMV. LOL.
I buy crap CDs, too. So comparing apples to apples, there are times, more often with LPs than with CDs, that the sound just hits all the good buttons. On that finding alone, I give analog the nod--the Scout delivers. And that's good enough.
When I was looking for a table, I believe it was Jaybo who warned me not to look forward to any analog revelation, any sonic orgasmatron to going vinyl. For the most part, he was correct. The differences are subtle, though some are profound, which have mostly to do with the recordings. There is good, bad and ugly in vinyl, just like in digital. I'm a little lighter in the wallet to learn that lesson, but a lot wiser. Still, where I shop, vinyl is cheap and it's fun, and I find it an enjoyable way to wither away an afternoon.
You don't need a honking big table to have fun. A little steam and a 16.5 can make a bad record sound damned nice, and you never have to think once about throwing your cds or your player out the window, or gawd forbid, upgrading. My $.02. YMMV. LOL.