Getting into analog is tough....

I too just got back into vinyl. I purchased a used Basis 1400, with RB300 arm. I also bought a ARC PH3 phono preamp and added a new Benz Micro Glider II cartridge and was off and running. Total cost about $2500.

Was it worth it? You bet. I have not listened to this much music in 10 years. It sounds better than my SACD/CD player (Sony 9000ES), by a large margin.

You have quite a lot of what amounts to free music (between you and your brothers collections you have several hundred albums!).

Two bits of advice I can give you is to buy a used TT and tonearm from somebody who is upgrading here on Audiogon. In that way you will be reasonably assured of getting a quality TT that has been taken care of fairly well.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can buy a used cartridge as well, but beware that some of them are very well used (worn out?) and installing them is not always easy. (Learning how to properly install/adjust a cartridge is daunting, as there are a number of variables: Tracking Force, Vertical Tracking Angle, Anti-skate forces, etc..) Given that and the possibility of bending the cantilever while installing it, and thus ruining the cartridge, is the reason I purchased my cartridge new from the local analog guru (Brian @ the Analog Room, in San Jose, CA).

As far as record cleaning is concerned, I recommend you purchase "Last" products, both the power cleaner and the preservative. Those and a carbon fiber brush and a stylus cleaning brush are all you really need.
Total cost about $100.

I recommend you make the plunge, as the sound just seems more musical than SACD and CD's. If you decide you don't like it, you can sell the rig and not be much, if anything, out of pocket.

Good Luck in your decision!

Match,

If I thought about music reproduction the way you describe it in your original post I would probably sell all of my software and equipment and buy one of those iPods and just download 1s and 0s off some website. What the hell, it all sounds the same on those little ear buttons, you can carry it in your shirt pocket and even get one free if you buy a new Beetle.

But I don't think that way about music reproduction. I want the best sound reproduction I can get to MY ears and analog sounds better to me than anything I have ever heard to date. I'm also that way about video. I'm the guy who will spend over $5k and countless hours in the attic and on the roof to get 9 channels of HDTV, because it looks better. But I'm not going to try to talk you into doing anything. If your happy with CDs, great! Enjoy.

Now, if you decide to make the commitment to analog, I'm sure you will find, as I have, that TWL and many others will go above and beyond to help you.

Dan ed, I am happy with CDs, but I want to be happy with analog, too. Don't get me wrong, I see people here have the passion for audio and it is great; however, I am not sure I am one of them. Yes, I like great sound, but I want to get great sound without having to spend countless hours to get it. I just want to buy it, connect it, turn it on and then enjoy it. And in between, I want to go out and hike, or see a movie, or party with some girls.

Dan ed, I appreciate what you are saying. Once upon a time I was a guitar player in a band. I had a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall stack(tubes baby). I spent countless hours getting everything to sound just right and I enjoyed every minute of it, but I am different now. Then, the trip for me was as much fun as the destination. Today, the destination is all I care about.

By the way, I truly appreciate everyone here that helps me and others with their fabulous insight. You guys have greatly helped me reduce the time I spend installing and searching for equipment and increased the time I spend listening. Thanks.

Could I be an audiophile in denial?

You just want it easy--are the girls you party with "professionals"? They're real easy...some can be *outstanding*!

I just got a bunch of LPs from Argentina, mostly early 70's recordings not available on CD. Ten albums for $126. A couple of old tango recordings were also in the group, one was a 1927 Carlos Gardel rereleased in LP. Awesome. Simply awesome. I have a really decent digital rig, including a belt driven transport, but it's the analog the one that can bring the magic and the nostalgia.

If you want close to plug and play and have plain fun I suggest what I have: the "Creature on Steroids".

For plug and play it's hard to be simpler than a rega p3 with an elys cartrige. The cartridge has 3 bolt points so that on a rega arm there is no alignment to consider. There's almost nothing to adjust on the rega other than tracking weight and anti-skate, which takes about 10 minutes. If you stick with the 3 point rega cartridges there's no VTA and no alignment

It may not be the absolute best for the money, but it's not bad, and later if you get the urge to upgrade the rega arms have many mods. That said, if you like to listen to music, and not to the hifi I think the rega will fit the bill. People like to bash rega, but they have sold an awful lot of tables.

As for phono stage, I'm not sure, but the creek obh seems to be quite well regarded. I personally use an audiolab 8000C for my phono pre and headphone amp, and I picked it up used for under $200. Great little class A (aka hot) preamp.

I think rega 3 + cartridge (Elys) + Creek pre should be under $1000, leaving plenty of money to buy more CDs and or LPs. Budget cleaning tools (which you will really need if you have old LPs) include allsop's orbitrac ($40) and discdoctor (similar price). Both will get you started without hundreds of dollars in expense.

Add in the shure stylus force guage ($25) and a hunt or similar carbon dry brush ($20) and you're up and running.