would you bother?

There are many used record stores with a lot of product. the problem is that you will have to invest in some record cleaning equipment. You will be surprised how good some of the bad looking vinyl can sound. With time you will be able to tell the difference between a worn out record and a dirty record. The used vinyl I find is very reasonable.

Ken

It really doesn't make much sense unless you are convinced that vinyl is way superior in sound to digital, and that is your main concern.

Many vinyl disciples have a huge investment in records that they have been collecting for decades.
If I had a thousand(s) LP's, I would want to believe that vinyl was the best sounding format, no matter what came along in the future.

Nevertheless, vinyl MAY BE the best sounding format there is. However, if you read other threads on Audiogon you'll see that at least some of the same people touting the virtue of vinyl here, are also saying that you don't get the most out of the format without the best gear. Meaning big bucks. Check out the prices of some turntables, and audiophile records.

So, what to do? There is nothing wrong with doing both. I have a decent Pioneer turntable, and about 300 LP's. But, I started out when vinyl was the only game in town. I still enjoy listening to them once in a while, but it is a lot more convienient to listen to cd's. LP covers, on the other hand, are much better to hold in your hands than a jewel box (to read too). That is one thing I miss with cd's.

I think well recorded cd's sound better than LP's with the equipment I own. I also think I could buy better vinyl gear that would sound better than cd's.

I re-iterate my earlier point: that spending loads of dosh is not necessary to building an extremely musical amd informative vinyl rig. The trick is in choosing musical items over analytical items, in which of course, the more money you spend the more information you retrieve (with certain exceptions, however...). Vinyl's great advantage over digital media is it's musicality. Therefore aim for Prat and that sense of organic flow first, everything else second. Classic 3-point suspension designs such as the ARs, Aristons, Thorenses, and Linns are masters of Prat and flow. Regas are musical and have great Prat as well. Many of these 'tables can be had for $300 with decent arm: say an AR EB101, or others, which often come with Sumiko MMTs and so on. Add $200 Shure V15VxMR cartridge. Buy Antique Sound Labs tubed Mini Phono for $250. Total $750. Buy a NAD PP2 and the price drops by $150. Buy a plastic Grado and the price drops by another $100. Now we're at $500. Not only does such a system have great Prat and flow, it is also surprisingly detailed. Forget the overpriced re-issues, buy in used stores at $5 to a buck or less a piece. At this price this is fun, and very soon you will have hundreds of records: try buying good used CDs for a buck or less. And it would take a mega-buck CD-player to match or beat the AR/MMT/Shure combo even for information - as air, imaging and timing are also forms of information, which only the very rare and very expensive CD players can convey. The combo also retrieves a hell of a lot of simple detail as well. Those who say a mega-buck combo is NECESSARY have bought, or are planning to buy, mega-buck combos and are competing with the Joneses. Magic - where vinyl absolutely crushes digital media - can be had for much less. Remember, it's about music, not money, not information. Here I hasten to add that such a well-chosen combo retrieves an astonishing amount of information nevertheless. So, no great dedication to the cause is necessary: at these prices one can experiment, have a different experience, and have fun. With such a well-chosen system and at these prices and with fun in mind, there will soon be a convert.

I haven't slogged through the whole thread here, so maybe it's already been mentioned, but a major consideration should be children -- your own or those who may come to visit. Aside from the potential economic choices vinyl may force you to make (do we have another baby or do I spring for that separate synchronous motor power supply this year...?), you will also have to develop a robust set of defensive countermeasures to safeguard your turntable shrine area. If YOU find drawn to turntables, imagine how alluring they must look to a toddler. (Hey, what's that little pointy thing hanging underneath the long black tube? I should probably scrape it really hard several times with my thumbnail to check it out...hey, it broke off...) I normally try to keep the turntable semi-hidden by keeping the dustcover closed, with a big pile of cd's and a plant on top. And with #4 Son, the craftiest of the clan, I NEVER LET HIM SEE ME PLAY A RECORD. If he saw me open the dustcover and he realized what interesting things were in there, that rig would be in pieces next time I came home from work. Then there's the vibration isolation. Once in a while I try to cheat and play a record while my kids are awake, and at least one of them will come BOUNDING into the room and start some wild dance, which is good, except that my crusty Linn LP12 tries to start dancing too, and after a few hops by the tonearm across the record, the music stops. You see, I haven't gotten around to investing a thousand bux into adequate vibration isolation. I'm going to move to the concrete floor of the basement and use a lower, better platform, but even then I'll have to erect some sort of barriers around it. I could use the specialist wall shelf I had mounted to brick in England, but the drywall back home here in the U.S. carries so much vibration that I doubt there's much point. There's more, but you get the idea. So having said all that, I have to admit that I'm going to be like my father when he said, "I smoke, but you shouldn't, because it's bad for you." Despite the endless hassle, I like vinyl and will continue to monkey with it, but if you have the choice, this is a well from which you should probably not sip. Just walk away. There are plenty of other things that you can spend your time and money on that will give you more pleasure and benefit.

>>You see, I haven't gotten around to investing a thousand bux into adequate vibration isolation.<<

Another hassle [and hidden cost] with vinyl.