How does a beginner turntable compare to digital ?

Combined with a good cartridge, I think an "entry" level table can do a fine job of letting you hear what's on the records.

It all comes down to your access to records and the quality of the records. If you have a good source of used records you can have a lot of fun discovering the huge amount of music available on old vinyl. If you'd be buying new $30-50 audiophile records to play on a $300 table, well I don't think that would be a good use of a music budget.

You can expect to spend time looking for good, clean records, caring for the them, and caring for the equipment (keep that stylus clean!). Often the records will just be dogs or too damaged (a more expensive rig may be more forgiving in this regard, but can't do miracles). The equipment requires careful setup (which should be done by the dealer the first time around).

My first turntable was crap compared to the rest of my system, and especially the very expensive disc player I had, and loved.

I am now all vinyl 2 yrs later, if that tells you anything.

With my limited vinyl knowledge and experience, i would say your phono pre-amp is also a factor. I chose to wait until I had a bigger budget than yours, and still was a little let-down. My cdp is a Resolution Audio Opus 21.

However, if you already own vinyl which is not getting any play; why not buy the gear now, and upgrade slowly?

Try a Pro-Ject Debut III, $400 including a pretty decent Ortofon OM5 cartridge. I bought one last year to listen to Christmas records in the living room, but when I brought it downstairs to compare to my much more expensive 'tables I was astonished. Analog (including this cheap machine) gives you the air that is missing from cd. It's free of the digital haze that restricts dynamics and sense of real space. I'm not a digital hater: my cd player is an Esoteric X-03se, and I love it for what it does. It's just that analog, even the inexpensive Pro-Ject, can make music come alive in a way that cd can't.

But as someone entirely new to analog you may find that surface noise, ticks and pops can get in the way of your musical experience. I never hear them myself, and many of my records are real "beaters" filled with noise. Of course I bought my first record player in 1956, and like most of us who started with analog, there's no adjustment to make. I have a friend who's a very sophisticated listener and knowledgeable audiophile who cannot abide the surface noise. Really the only way for you to find out is to make the commitment, give it two or three months, and resell if it's not your cup of tea. Even if you buy new for $400 and resell for $300 (typical for the Pro-ject) you're only out $100 to learn.

You will need a phono preamp, too. Many adequate ones available for under $100. Or, if you want to push it up a bit, $250-300 for a used Lehmann Black Cube will give you real high-end quality, and it's instantly re-sellable if you give up on analog.

That's all I got. Have fun!
Dan

At a much lower cost is going with a used table to begin with...I had a project expression 4-5 yrs back...and although it sounded good...the lack of any real suspension caused the table to skip when one was in the same are code...that bad...and the build quality on the entry level regas and projects are nothing to write home about...people scoff at older non-1200 series technics...but they are built better...i currently have an h/k table from the 80s which cost me about 1/4 of what a P1 would run...and the P1 is mdf and plastic....