How does a beginner turntable compare to digital ?

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....

VqLong200,
I think a table in that range is a good idea to start out with. I was in your position five or so years ago. What I have found is that vinyl isn't necessarily better than digital, it's just different. I personally find the difference very enjoyable and thus moved up to a more expensive table. The differences I've included are:

more care required for storage and cleaning of records

much more attention to setup and maintenance of equipment.

shopping for vinyl is more enjoyable than downloading or buying cd's. I love spending a few hours going through the inventory of the records shops in my area.

less long term listening fatique. I still get good detail in all frequency ranges, but the highs just are quite as biting over the long term.

In my system images are stightly less precise compared to my digital setup. Sound stage is slightly better.

I like not having the option to fast forward through tracks. It makes me listen to the entire record as the artist intended.

I started with a Music Hall MMF5 which at the time was in your budget (now a new one is much more expensive). A table in the this range will tell you if vinyl is something you want to invest time into. I hate to throw in a plug, but my MMF5 is for sale if you are interested.

Don't forget table is not a player. For your $500 you will have to secure a table, cartrage and a phono stage. Spend the money on a CD player and never look back.

The Brio that the OP has, has a built in phono stage. As a start up system, this phone stage will work perfectly.

The Rega P1 (or the new RP1) would be a great table to start with, and both come with a decent cartridge.

As a cautionary note: You will most likely become a vinyl addict and spend crazy amounts of money on vinyl and turntable upgrades in the near future!

******** Dealer Notice --- I'm a Rega dealer ************

I got back into vinyl after a twenty year hiatis. Now as in the past surface noise (new or used vinyl) can be an issue specifically snaps clicks and pops. I bought a Spin Clean Record Cleaner and a Carbon Fiber Brush along with a stylus brush/cleaner. I have been able to reduce the surface noise on most albums to very low levels. Some are dead quite with the exception of the occassional pop. I did have to send one brand new album back because it was so noisey that I couldn't listen to it. But with either media the quality of the recording as well as the quality of the pressing(vinyl) makes a huge difference.

As to the sound the vinyl has more fullness to it at all frequencies and the soundstaging is better and in most instances also more organic, symbols sound more like symbols,drums more like drums etc. With Digital(SACD) the dynamic range is wider but the sound is thiner at all frequencies. Soundstaging is also very good and the dynamic attack is a bit stronger. In the end I seem to prefer vinyl and I say this after having pounded my chest to the superiority of Digital (SACD) to vinyl. But vinyl is more work, higher maintainence and more finicky than digital.

I bought a used Thorens td166mkII a used Musical Fidelity v-lps phono stage and a new Denon DL103r cartridge. Including the cleaning products I have about $800 into my analoge set-up. My digital player is a modded Sony SCD-1 about $5K into it. So given the fact that this moddest analoge system can compete favorably with my digital set-up is surprising to me. I would say give it a try spend wisely and you won't get hurt if you don't like it.

The rest of my system is a Cary SLI-80F1 tube integrated and Focal 1007Be Monitors with Homegrown Audio DNA interconnects and X32 Speaker Cables.

Good Luck and Have Fun.

Chuck