Willing to be proved wrong.

Elwood:

That's what I would do. Like I said before it took me a year to secure my current TT/arm combo @ a price that I feel comfortable with. Hopefully you will run across a good used deck @ a local dealer, pawn or thrift shop, but in the meantime just get a new cartridge for your current TT and have some fun.

The "Rat" (if a single unit is used in stereo mode) requires two 9V batteries and a charger (figure $30 for this @ Target, or a lot more @ RS). Other than decent sound it is dead quiet (no mains hum). To me it sounds better than the NAD stand alone unit and it easily beats any vintage budget receiver phono section that I have heard (the exception being the phono preamp in the Advent 300 receiver).

The downside is that the battery needs to be recharged every 3-5 days and it needs to be left on 7/24 for it to sound good (you will require two batteries, charging one while using the other).

So figure $60 plus the hassle.

If you want to save a few $ I do know where some of the units may be left for $16 (plus shipping) VS $25 @ RS.

For an inexpensive "plug in" phono preamp look on Ebay for a vintage Realistic/Radio Shack 42-2101. I suspect that this unit may have been designed by J. Curl (or @ least based on one of his early designs). My Rats run as dual mono's are better, but the vintage model is still a good performer and it is without the hassle of battery power. Figure $20-$25 for one of these, plus shipping (I would not pay more). I used the vintage units as dual mono's as well (my cheap/easy way of beefing up the power supply in order to increase dynamics), but one, in stereo, still sounded good.

Hi Paul:

From your comments you do not leave the preamp powered up 7/24 which is very much needed to improve the sound (it also requires a minimum of 100 hours, 150 is more like it, of running a signal in order to sound its best). The most a battery can last (@ complete idle w/o a signal being processed is 8 days in any of my units) and I cannot imagine buying and tossing non rechargeable batteries within this amount of time being that I leave them powered up all the time.

This is not meant as a rebuttal of your specific findings and is just to point out that these budget preamps can sound quite good when operated in the manner that I describe (hassles and all, which also includes using a high output cartridge due to the gain).

As far as the rest of your post you have my MO down to a "T" (being that I am a music junkie on a budget) and I also heartily agree with what you point out as being the main reason for most anyone to own a TT (regardless of its status) in decent operating condition (this being in regard to expanding ones music library).

Elmuncy:

If you wish possibly scratched and dirty LP's (from your hay days) to be without crackles and pops, then it's not going to happen. I will purchase rare LP's in poor condition (just to hear them for the first time), but the ticket is to learn how to inspect and judge LP's, as far as playing condition goes, if purchasing them in person on the used market.

Just to drive you nuts (LOL) me and my wife have purchased 1200, or so, used CD's in the past 3.5 years for maybe $2.5K tops. In the past year we have purchased around 1500 LP's, 99% of them being in mint playing condition, also on the used market, for well under $1K. I do however realize that this depends on ones local.

I also collect reel to reel tapes and 78's even though I have not owned a R2R or a 78 player for 20 years as someday I may have this source gear again.