As someone who has bought vinyl for almost 60 years and not knowing your age, it pains me to say this:
Are you CERTAIN you want to start a vinyl system right now??
If you haven’t recently inherited a relative’s vast collection of classic rock or jazz albums, are you sure you want to spend $25 or more on new releases and $10 to hundreds of dollars on used records? Keep in mind, the days of walking into a used record store with a $20 bill and walking out with 5 to 10 releases are LONG GONE. Today I just paid $18 for Bowie’s "Station To Station" (1st release), $15 for a reissue of Dire Straits debut album, $35 for Talk Talk’s "The Colour of Spring", $30 each for Porcupine Tree’s reissue of "Lightbulb Sun" and "Deadwing", and $15 for Aerosmith’s "Rocks".
Go on Discogs or Ebay and search some of your favorite albums to see the prices. Used vinyl prices have skyrocketed over the last 10 years -- especially during and post Covid lockdown. The same hipsters who are investing in Sports Cards are also driving the prices of vinyl through the roof. It has gotten cool to mount albums on the wall instead of actually playing them, and these buyers have turned vinyl into a speculative market. I just shake my head.
I honestly don’t know how younger kids are getting into the hobby. Where are they getting the money to buy used records at these prices? The market is flooded with cheap turntables under $300, but unless they are inheriting collections they’re spend a fortune on old releases.
So before taking a huge financial plunge, think long and hard about the ongoing media costs now facing vinyl lovers. As previously mentioned, maybe start small to see if vinyl is for you. I own a Linn Sondek LP12, a Rega P3, three vintage Dual tables (CS-5000, 1219, 1019), a Yamaha P-250, and a Fluance RT85. All are utilized in different systems in my house. The one that surprised me the most was the Fluance, which cost me $500 and included an Ortofon cartridge. Fluance just released an improved deck, the RT87, for $699.
I wouldn’t hesitate suggesting you buy it with a Schiit Audio phono stage to try vinyl out. If you think you are going to stick with it, then go drop some "big boy" dollars and use the Fluance as a back up or in a bedroom system.
Keep us informed on your journey and good luck!