I fell in love with records and started collecting with "Good Night Irene" by Howlin' Wolf around 1950. My parents wanted to disown me because I kept sittin' on the records and breaking the damn things. 78s ya know? Anyway I was in my terrible twos. True story. I have thousands of records and 5 turntables, 4 phono stages, a couple of dozen cartridges, a record cleaning machine and on it goes. This morning I bought 23 more records. As in today alone. This is a serious kind of thing ya know? Well most of your know that. But you know what? Advice to the op who is looking to find out about vinyl without making a big commitment and not wanting any hassles? That is tough. If you were my own son, try and find a friend who has vinyl and hang with him or her a bit to see what you think. It is sort of like sailing. Some times it is better to crew on a boat than to own a boat. Ya know? Try before you buy.
Let me put this another way. My main vinyl play back system: TT #1-$4K; TT#2-$6K; Cartridges: $8K, $6k, $1.6K, $1.2K; Phono Stage $18K, oh and a Sugar Cube $2K. Not to mention the protractors and deionizers and several tracking force gauges and on and on and on. Yes it sounds good, but not necessarily better than my digital rig that costs $2K all in. Vinyl is a lifestyle and a commitment. It is a passion, it is not rational. The records warp, get scratched, are noisier than digital at best, can be inordinately expensive to buy, collectibles can be nearly impossible to find, they take up a lot of space in your home, are heavy to move, difficult to store and maintain, and have been known to (ahem) strain relationships. God help me I love 'em.
Let me put this another way. My main vinyl play back system: TT #1-$4K; TT#2-$6K; Cartridges: $8K, $6k, $1.6K, $1.2K; Phono Stage $18K, oh and a Sugar Cube $2K. Not to mention the protractors and deionizers and several tracking force gauges and on and on and on. Yes it sounds good, but not necessarily better than my digital rig that costs $2K all in. Vinyl is a lifestyle and a commitment. It is a passion, it is not rational. The records warp, get scratched, are noisier than digital at best, can be inordinately expensive to buy, collectibles can be nearly impossible to find, they take up a lot of space in your home, are heavy to move, difficult to store and maintain, and have been known to (ahem) strain relationships. God help me I love 'em.