2. analog
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What's the cost of an entry level vinyl setup?

I'm just curious how much it would cost to get the equipment required to make vinyl worth listening to. I know players are available for cheap, but would anticipate the sound quality to be the same.

What would be your recommendation to go with a system worth about $5,000 in total? Is there a significant advantage to vinyl at this level? I've heard vinyl on high enough equipment to know that at it's best it's better than digital, but am not sure what it would cost for the average joe to get a quality sound.
mceljo
craig_c
21 posts
 
The operative term in the original post was "ENTRY LEVEL".
I stick to the opinion that you can get very good sound from some careful choices and smart shopping. I got a brilliant Dual 721 for $20. It is in great shape. Stuck a $150 cart on it, and voila!

I'll also stick my neck out here and say that a large percentage of the population who have spent years going to clubs or live music (or with the MP3 player stuck in their ears) have such damaged hearing that they really can't distinguish the nuances that make someone spend 5K on a TT, or preamp or a cartridge.

Craig.
maineiac
649 posts
 
There was a room using "scraps" that included an Audiolab 8000 integrated amp ($300 used) and a Magnavox CDP ($50 used). I won't mention the speakers, but I will say the sound in that room was in my top 3 of the whole show.

Clio, we have to at least know the price level of the speakers?
clio09
3,346 posts
 
"Clio, we have to at least know the price level of the speakers?"

Why?
maineiac
649 posts
 
Clio99, I was reading your hypothesis that a system built with scraps could sound awesome. If in reality it is scraps with a $10K+ speakers then I am not sure the point is as valid.
jrtrent
45 posts
 
In his review of Rega's P5 and P7 turntables, Art Dudley said, "were I to recommend a turntable to a vinyl enthusiast who's new to perfectionist audio, it would be the P3, hands down—virtually regardless of that person's budget. And to the more seasoned audio enthusiast, who already has some familiarity with good analog gear but simply wants an easy way off the merry-go-round, the P9 is my equally easy choice."

I haven't heard the OP's Focal Chorus speakers, but from reviews it seems they have strengths that Rega turntables would complement. The P3-24 with factory-mounted Elys 2 cartridge should fit well into his system. His receiver has a phono input, so he wouldn't need a phono stage. At some point it might be interesting to compare the Rega Fono MM with the built-in stage to see if it's a worthwhile improvement, and the same with the TT PSU, but just the 'table and cartridge, at $1095 for the package, would be worthy of his system and could be all the turntable he ever needs.
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