Analog vs. CDP: A fair comparison?

Pawlowski612,

Thanks for providing more info on where you're coming from, and where you'd like to go. That helps alot.

Your lack of a significant LP collection argues against jumping into vinyl in a serious way, since you have little experience with all the hassles and work required. Record cleaning and fussing with arm/cartridge setup are manadatory to get even decent performance, never mind good performance.

OTOH #1
You understand your music needs, they are readily available on vinyl and you wouldn't be abandoning a large number of CD's.

OTOH #2
There is no ignoring the implications of your second paragraph,

I really love the sensual side of this hobby.

I like to be hands on with my gear.

I love to try new things.

You're doomed. You are a perfect candidate for vinyl mania. Come on in!

Doug

P.S. There is no exclusive club, there's just us. If you want an exclusive club you have to visit Vinyl Asylum. They only let the real nut cases in there!

P.P.S. My vinyl/digital ratio is similar to Justubes, $18K/$1.5K, but my experience is somewhat difference. My (carefully tweaked) digital is quite good, better than some $8-10K dedicated CDP's I've heard. But in general it does not match my vinyl. Yes, a good SACD or DVD-A sounds better than a bad LP, but for 90% of my collection (4,000 LP's, 800 silver discs) the vinyl wins - as it should for $18K.

P.P.P.S. If you do decide to proceed, read Kurt Tank's first post again. He gave lots of excellent advice.

Billt1,

In one sense there is no reason to "worry" about a $3K investment in analogue. Vinyl repays significant investments much more convincingly than digital.

But the flip side is also true. Unless you're a skilled DIY-er, vinyl needs more put into it than digital. There are few if any upward spending limits and the temptation to take it further is always there, simply because experience quickly teaches you that the paybacks will be real. Three years ago we questioned our sanity before dropping $6K on our first high end rig. We've since tripled that investment and more. The sonic results surpass digital at any price, but of course the sanity question remains unresolved.

I'd suggest visiting a friend or dealer who has a good quality vinyl setup. Play some familiar CD's to give yourself a feel for the system's character. Then try a few of your LP's. That might give you some sense of what the payoff might be.

Excellent advice from Maineiac re: buying used. Audiogon and ebay give us ways to audition stuff with small financial risk. For example, we recently upgraded our I/C's and speaker cables to a level we might never have reached if we'd had to buy new. We love the results, but if we hadn't we could have re-sold them for about what we paid.

There is one possible exception: cartridges. Unless you have reasons to trust the seller that go beyond a good feedback number, buying used cartridges is risky. I've had both good luck and bad, but if your first attempt went bad it might sour you on the whole thing. Don't buy used cartridges unless you know what you're doing and/or know the seller.

Hey, it could happen. My cats lick the records clean for me. I'm selling the Loricraft and buying more Friskies.