interesting article about turntables and vinyl

Thank goodness new turntables top out at $350! I already sent my Clearaudio dealer an order for the Statement and a check for $350. I hope shipping won't be too much. Got a record show coming up Sunday - can't wait to see what I can find for a buck or two.

12-06-12: Bondmanp
Thank goodness new turntables top out at $350!

Where did the article say that?

I'm eyeballing the new VPI Traveler table should my 25 year old Linn Axis go up anytime soon. Not $350 but looks pretty solid and a decent value, at least on the grand scale of high end audio things. I have a lot of records and continue to accumulate more. There is a lot of good listening out there on used vinyl for anyone who wants to build a decent music collection in an affordable manner. Good used vinyl is more cost effective than CD or digital still, though the material available is heavily biased to that released 20 years ago or more. Nothing wrong with that though!

I don't mind saying this again: Turntables are the only things that will play LPs. I'm not a "format snob" but when I replaced a long dead turntable a few years ago, resurrected my hundreds of LPs that had been languishing in boxes for years, and bought an inexpensive LP cleaner, I found that, man, many of my old LPs sound AMAZING. As do my new LPs. THAT is a good reason to get a good analog rig...it plays LPs...and I can force dinner guests to listen to my ukulele part on a Japanese techno pop 45 I was on in 1981.

I regularly experience transcendental moments with my turntable-sourced rig. Moments where I feel in touch with the musicians and their artistic intentions when the recording was made. I occasionally have had these experiences with CDs, but nowhere near as often.

As for the article, I'm glad it gives widespread exposure to the vinyl renaissance, but:

... Most older turntables have a feature that allows users to replace the cartridge that controls record playback quality, a feature that might be important to audiophiles. Newer models are often outfitted with one standard cartridge that won't allow the sound quality to be adjusted.

WTF?