How does a beginner turntable compare to digital ?

Thanks for all the helpful comments and advices. One thing that makes me want to try out vinyl is the ritual of listening musics through a turnable. After countless hours with computer and lossless music files that you can easily move from file to file at will, the idea of taking care of your records, your turntable and taking time to set up a record to play music seems enjoyable to me. It is like taking care of your pet and it is also like ZEN; living slower, mindful of what you are doing and enjoying v.v.

But then to make all these exercises worthwhile, it is a must that the end music does not disappoint. My goal is to reach a level of music through vinyl that is comparable if not exceed a good CD player such as the Rega Appollo. As I said a above, I don't mind the time taking care of the rig and I do have time budget for that :)

For the start, the Rega Brio 3 I am using has decent phono stage as I heard. Debut III or Rega P1 seems to be an OK idea for an integrated vinyl set-up. But if there is other bargain below 1K that better satisfy my goal above, then I think I will be willing to invest.

I don't have a LP record collection. But I have access to some good used LP stores. I also thinking of buying bulk here in Audiogon or Ebay for a starter. How bad is that idea ? What is the chance of getting some respectable LPs in cheap that way ?

Thanks again, You are all great.

How about an upgrade to Music Hall MMF-7 for my goal ?

I recommend that you purchase Spin Clean to clean those used records. It will made a huge differance in your enjoyment of vinyl. A clean record will sound much better than a dirty one.

Vqlong2000, you wrote: "the ritual of listening musics through a turnable. After countless hours with computer and lossless music files that you can easily move from file to file at will, the idea of taking care of your records, your turntable and taking time to set up a record to play music seems enjoyable to me. It is like taking care of your pet and it is also like ZEN; living slower, mindful of what you are doing and enjoying v.v."

I think you are a perfect candidate for an analogue rig. Now, to answer your original question, my recommendation is that you try and attend a couple of live concerts. Preferably ones with minimal electronic amplification. Great venues, and great performers are an obvious plus, but not absolutely necessary. Local music college recitals, church concerts, will do just fine. Go and listen to the music, not hi-fi effects, and calibrate your ears. As soon as you get home from the concert listen to your CD player using similar music. Do you notice your shoulders relaxing at home as much as they did at the live concert? Those are the kinds of differences that you can expect.

After growing up on my older brothers' records and 8 tracks (Kiss, Bob Seger, Zappa, Black Sabbath, Doors, Sgt Peppers, all the good stuff), I went all digital when I got one of the first CD players available in the US in 1983--the original Sony Discman CD1. No looking back either. I just set up a good digital server system using a Squeezebox, streaming FLAC files when I don't play CDs directly (I can't tell the difference and it's a lot easier to find my music). I thought this was the end for me. No muss, no fuss. But I was missing something.

Yes you read all about how much different analog vinyl sounds here in these forums. Over the summer at a local garage sale, I found a box of records from the 70s and 80s. Some good stuff, pretty beat up, but some in great shape. It sure brought back memories.

A month ago I got a Marantz TT15 demo for 1200 bucks at MusicDirect. There's plenty written about it in the forums. It's a rebadged Clearaudio with a great cartridge. Coupled with a PS Audio GCPH phono stage and some Cardas balanced cables I already had, this setup gives me a lot of bang for the buck. I got a Spin Clean too, and it works OK, it's a lot of labor but fun. My investment in all the equipment (above plus brushes, stylus cleaner, stylus VTA gauge) is around $2K. Doesn't include records.

In short, I haven't had so much fun in years! It has brought back a lot of fun to this hobby. I love holding music in my hands. I love the old stuff. I love finding records that never made it to vinyl. I love the hunt. I love the smell. I love the record stores. I love the fiddling, the setup, the tweaking. I love getting it just right, listening late at night, sinking into the music, hearing it all without the digital fatigue that no matter how great your setup IS there. I love the magic of how a turntable physically translates the sound from the grooves to your ears. I love showing my kids how it all works. I love how my wife shakes her head at me. And she likes listening with me too.....

I don't love the snaps, the pops, the background noise. I don't love the occasional rumble when I turn it up too loud. I don't love the scratches I don't think matter when I look at the record but it disturbs the recording. I don't love how perfect albums in the store sound noisy when I play them at home, and others you don't think are so great really are. I realize how much it takes to throw off the chain, how fragile a stylus can be, how it wears every time you use it. How you have to keep adjusting everything but when you get it right it's really pretty easy to keep right, at least with my setup.

Other posters are spot on about costs. The records are all over the map. I at first was just buying whatever I could find to build a collection--yard sales, Half Price books, etc. THose dollar records are priced at a dollar for a reason! They really sound like crap no matter what you do and I worry about my equipment with those records playing. Also, I have been fooled by what I thought were early pressings but were really 80s reissues that don't sound as good. Now I am more selective. I find that going to a good shop and paying the price is worth it. I have found some really good early pressings that are clean and noise free and it really makes a difference. I even have found some that are really mint, never played, original pressings. How fun is that?? Some shops are more proud than others, so check around. The newer reissues are pretty good too, but not all. I just picked up Guns and Roses Appetite for Destruction and Nirvana Nevermind in 180g vinyl and they sound amazingly good--quiet, tight bass, great soundstage. Vinyl costs more than CDs now, but hey, if you really want the hands on experience and take care of your stuff, it's all worth it.

If you want the hands on, like to fiddle, want to enjoy the music, then yes, go vinyl. I haven't had so much fun in years and I have a lot of fun with this hobby. I do think you need to spend a sufficient amt to get the most out of your setup. I probably will upgrade some day, but am pretty darn happy now.