Can I get sound "AS CLOSE TO PERFECT AS I'VE EVER HEARD" with vinyl on a budget?

True. The 'more there is' to a turntable (auto stop/lift, fancy suspension etc), the more there is to go wrong! Keep it simple is a good philisophy - ask Roy Gandy.

 

I am going to say "no". Personally, I would (and have) preferred a $500 Analog rig as compared to MY digital front front end but since you have already made this comparison and chose digital, I don't think you should expect a different outcome with only a $500 investment. What is really going to be different or better from that rig you gave up on? It would be tough to do as good as your 1500 with a good AT cart for $500 today. Perhaps the new internal phono would be a difference maker in SQ but that might be a long shot at best.

I feel you can get further faster (cheaper) in SQ with a digital rig than with a TT. To make it even the outlay of money has to be at least 3 to 1.

All that being said, get a Turntable. It's fun, a nice change of pace and you have collection of LP's you are attached to. If your goal is to take the path that is the least expensive, I would not recommend vinyl to anyone.

Edit: and as far as the question "Will I hear noise?". Record cleaning is critical, buy a spin clean. Skipping this step will certainly increase surface noise.

 

It looks like the consensus is it's worth a try. I like some of the recommendations listed above and will investigate them.
I'll have to keep my expectations in check here as I feel my system is pretty darn good with cds and ripped files. Remember, I won't be a vinyl newbie. Although I stopped buying vinyl in the late 80's, I lived with vinyl as my main source for 20 years. It took me another 15 years to make the decision to leave it behind.
Just went upstairs and checked on the vinyl lps which survived the purge. There are at least ten albums which I'm sure are mint to near mint.
David Bowie, Hunky Dory, Diamond Dogs, Heroes, and Tonight.
George Harrison, All Things Must Pass
Lou Reed, Berlin
James Taylor, Flag and In The Pocket
Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Welcome To The Pleasuredome
The Beatles, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
And a few others are all in perfect condition.

Thanks for all the advice, both ways.

 

This is exactly what I expect. After all, the Resolution Audio Opus 21 is a stellar performer, IME. I know as I tried a few highly regarded cd players, including a couple tube models, before ending that search.
I don't expect to end up with a preference for vinyl. When I sold off my vinyl it wasn't because I didn't like the sound. It had as much to do with the availability of new music and which format to buy which during the 90's and on favored cd.

 

One big development between then and now is that music stores have pretty much gone out of business. One benefit to buy records is going to a record store, a nearly lost practice. I don't know what it is like in indy but where I'm at its nice to hit the shop and discover new music.

 

There is a definite upturn in the amount ofmusic and record stores that are opening and flourishing in the UK. More and more are starting to stock new vinyl to compliment their vast swathes of pre-owned records.

If anything, the choice is better than it has been for a while here.

 

Excellent. Thanks

 

To the OP, my opinion is that unless you're willing to put in the legwork, vinyl for you might be too much of a hassle. Even I get frustrated with it sometimes. There is nothing more annoying than getting a brand new record (or visually NM used record), cleaning it, and then playing it only to find out there is a pressing flaw on one track that pisses you off to no end. Then you have to go through the hassle of getting a replacement copy that doesn't have that flaw, or any other problem. If you are interested in perfection, forget vinyl.

If you are fixated on vinyl for some reason, I would HIGHLY suggest spending some time listening to systems of friends/family/nearby vinyl record fans before shelling out for an LP playback system you'll be disappointed with.

 

This is probably true. The main reason I don't want to spend big $$$.

 

I read in Febuary,s hi fi world( (yes i know its still January) the review of a Clearaudio absolute phono turntable at £8995.c

Tests show eqalisation was a little inaccurate! Its bonkers at this level. Even the humble nad pp9 got that part right.
The notable part of this turntable is that a head amp is built into the arm.
The point i am coming to is the mc coil which is priced at £3850, is thats its a lousy tracker even at 2.8g. Oh it clears 85um Lateral
45 um vertical, but only 18 cms/sec.
1960,s Shure v15,s were exceeding that in 1969 ! Some stantons 6800E were even better than that.
Its been said on this forum that hiking up the price won,t compensate for inaccuracies, especially when one is after state of the art sound .its also been said that attention to detail in setting arm/ cartridge down to microscopic levels, arm cable matching, loading pf phono stage. All are responsible for the final frontier.
Not, well i have thrown £2000 on bits and pieces so thats that! Its got to be better. I have heard Thorens decks that absolutely beguile,
A Garrard 401 with Hadcock gh242 with music maker that absolutely sounds divine.
All arereasonablly priced.
Products like Clearaudio should are bad for audio buyers no matter how gorgeous they look.
L

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Buzzkill; of course he can ! It's 600 albums we're talking here.

 

True. Vinyl playback is a royal PITA. The part that I hate most is aligning the cartridge. For me, a very frustrating task to perform.

 

LOL, as far as I'm concerned, the conversation should have stopped right here.

 

Like someone so wisely stated on this forum : ¨some people expect perfection from a needle dragged through plastic¨; I know I don't, but still love the sound.

 

I've successfully talked three people out of "getting into vinyl" over the past year. In each case, the interest came about from reading something on the internet about how dramatically superior analog playback was, compared with digital.

The way I see it: If you really enjoy listening to music on a good system, and have made it all the way to 2016 without "getting into vinyl"... stay the course. You're not really missing out on anything significant.

If you're itching to spend money - invest in better speakers. Do some work on your room acoustics.

 

That's kind of funny to me as I have also been one to advocate staying away from vinyl to those who have never experienced it. Let me quote my early input to toddrhodes' thread here http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/dyed-in-the-wool-digital-boy-wants-a-turntable.484871/ a month or so ago.
"My first reaction to this question from "digital" guys is don't do it. The sound will be different, not necessarily better; a matter of taste really.

I bought my first lp back in 68', Magical Mystery Tour, and loved my albums. The one day as we were packing to move in to a new home I realized how much space (an entire coat closet) my albums were taking up. They had spent a few years untouched and unnoticed until it was time to lug them out. Shortly after we moved I decided to get rid of all the vinyl with the exception of maybe 75 sentimental treasures. Of course I kept the well worn Magical Mystery Tour along with the other Beatles albums.

If you are going to buy music you already have and want to listen to the media then go for it. If you want to have the vinyl experience then go for it. My advice though, is to buy used as much as possible in case in a year or so you decide it's more hassle than it's worth. And I wouldn't put any credence in anybody who says it's not a hassle to get it sounding better than your digital setup. Whether it's worth the hassle is up to you."

Maybe I should take my own advice.

 

I would hate to miss out on the vinyl versions of:
recent Beatles mono, Red, Blue, One, Past/Mono Masters
Classic label Led Zep
Hendrix Legacy releases - so much stuff
classical label L'Oiseau-Lyre releases
Audio Fidelity Laura Nyro & Kate Bush
Nantucket Sleigh Ride
Rolling Stones Decca box
All Things Must Pass
lots of Kevin Gray stuff - June Christy, lots of jazz stuff
Joni Mitchell remasters
Cream
all SH and KG vinyl releases
WB green label Black Sabbath

Just saying that with a digital only system it would bug me that I'm not able to listen to the best sounding versions of a lot of the music I like.

 

Agreed. A 12 x 12 room is absolute hell for the low end.

 

FWIW, I believe I have the room sorted out as well as can be done in a square space. When I went to the diagonal setup I was amazed at the imaging achieved; stunning really. Bass sounds good also, but here I'm only using stand mount speakers (Revel M20s).

 

I love listening to music. Once I had the imaging dialed in I'd rearrange the whole room around it. But that's just me.

 

Yeah, I can't imagine getting into vinyl and one of the hallmarks being, "I can't hear any noise, even between tracks". That seems like such a goofy expectation or draw.

 

I made the choice to give up on vinyl for a number of reasons, but one of the underlying requirements was before I did was that the CD counterpart should be as good or better to me. Needless to say, I have yet to feel shortchanged and remain happy and settled in my choice.

 

i disagree, those early technics DD are fantastic - pitch stability, speed and rumble it would walk all over a rega - especially a entry-level one. i had a sl150 MKI which was very quiet and sounded fantastic. plus they are a lot better made/assembled than the rega. nice weight to the platter, solid finish, etc. if you want to get back into records an old, unfashionable technics like a sl1300-1800 MKI is a great route to go. very little fuss and great sound.

if you want a low background noise - focus on quality pressings (whether new or second hand) - no TT can make a poor, noisy pressing any better. as they say, you can't polish a turd.

 

Y e s.

Of course.

 

I have heard even more lowly Technics tables sound incredible for their relatively modest build.