Not Enjoying My Turntable

You see this increasingly so lately.
Unfortunately back in the 70,s vinyl replay could near enough be plug and play and even though better setup would obviously help we really had nothing much to compare it to bar the radio so yes it sounded good( at the time).

Now for those trying to return to vinyl with CD and streaming and dacs that perform exceptional for a low price point it can highlight all the deficiency that was always present but we never knew ( or cared?).

So a $500 entry to vinyl is highly unlikely to get even close to a $500 digital setup .
Can it be made to sound decent?
Sure it can, but is not going to be plug and play and still will likely sound somewhat jaded against the digital.

It is just part of the times we live in.

I too tried to enjoy vinyl again. But I experienced the same muffled sound and lack of dynamics and my needle didn’t skip.  And Yes, I was comparing a 5k setup to a 1.5k turntable with a not very expensive external phone pre-amp.  But it became clear the additional cost and return of the hated ticks and pops would be an outright ridiculous use of my savings to return me back to my teenage years.  I have finally achieved better sq than I did with my first system in high school.  It costs 20 times more which seems ridiculous, but finally the realization of great music with thousands of albums at my finger tips and no ticks and pops is realized.   

It’s a wonderful hobby and I would own an expensive analog setup if it could afford it, but for now I am more than content and proud of what I have. 

A sign of god to throw it away

Getting really good sound from a turntable setup requires a level of involvement and effort that in my opinion only pays off if you actually enjoy doing that stuff (the tactile and involvement part of playing records).  I don't think it's so much the amount of $ spent (over a certain minimum) but the care of setup, alignment, record cleanliness, proper electrical matching of components.  Its a delicate chain. I've gotten really good sound from inexpensive turntables and cartridges but its hours and hours spent on alignment, cleaning, tuning etc.  But I love doing it.  Don't enjoy that level of involvement? Just go digital.