[christophrowley]

Background:
I have heard it said that tablets make inferior reading devices than ereaders if not for the screen but for the fact that Angry Birds is a couple of taps away. As someone who grew up without ever having had vinyl in the house, I feel no nostalgia for vinyl but I am experiencing a similar problem to the one I mentioned. I'm currently running a Bifrost/Asgard combo from my computers, but as much as I love the music I listen to, I don't spend enough time listening. It's far too easy to juggle several things at once and not immerse myself in the music. The most appealing solution I can think of is making my first foray into the world of vinyl. Thing is: I have no idea where to start. As I said, I've never known vinyl. 
 
Question:
I realise that head-fi mightn't have the biggest vinyl community out there, but I thought it worth a try. I'm looking for tips, tricks, general information and recommendations for someone who has zero experience with vinyl. It's very broad, I know, but I'm building on nothing and anything to point me in the right direction would be much appreciated. 
 
A few questions to get get the ball rolling: 
 
-  Belt vs direct drive. Is there a sonic difference?
-  Phono pre-amps aren't optional are they?
-  What's compatible with what? (tonearms, cartridges, etc) 
-  What broad generalisations can be made about certain brands' sound signatures? (e.g. Sennheiser being laid back)
-  What would you recommend as a starting platform 
 
Replies needn't be limited to what I've listed. Any nuggets of information are greatly appreciated and thank you in advance to anyone who replies to this. 
 
 
TL;DR
Interested in getting into vinyl with no prior experience - seeking tips, tricks, general information and recommendations to help me get started. 

 

[Thing Fish]

Boy oh boy where do I start...?
 
Vinyl is a broad a subject with as many opinions as there are grains of sand on a beach.
 
Some prefer belt drive others direct drive the choice is purely yours to make (I have a belt drive) How much money do you intend to spend is always a good start.
 
Assuming you're not mega rich? I'd go for a secondhand deck off a certain auction site or better still spread the word among friends and see if someone has one lying around that you can try.
 
An integrated amp is a good place to start. Thus eliminating the need for a separate phono stage at this moment (these can be very expensive indeed)
 
Separate arms and cartridges are another matter altogether and as with phone stages can cost as much or as little as your wallet can stand.
 
I'd go for something like a 'Rega p3' with arm and cart already fitted off fleabay for about £300 with an amp for around £150 (or less) and some speakers for about the same. You could upgrade at a later stage.
 
Buying vinyl is the next step and opens another can of worms.As I see you are in the UK there are plenty of second hand shops around selling vinyl. Or there is always the good old charity shop...!
 
Your best idea as I mentioned is to find someone getting rid of a system (not one of those awful all in one Jobie's) with a pile of records as well.
 
I know I've been a bit vague but the subject is so vast.
 
I would add though that once you have a system that gives you good synergy it can be highly satisfying and will blow most digital music out of the water. I know mind does.
 
Most young people have never heard or considered a good vinyl system and don't know what they are missing.
 
Oh yes another thing. Don't believe the old wives tale that vinyl is dead. It ain't...!!!
 
But being an analogue junkie I would say that...

 

[FSonicSmith]

I was in a very similar situation three years ago, with one major difference. I grew up with vinyl before abandoning it at age 20 due to the emergence of CD. 
I got back in buying a Project RM5se with the factory installed Blue Point Special. A well known webtailer, whom I had bought from before (home theater speakers) sold me on the Project. At a $1,000, I could immediately tell it was junk. I bought my teenage son at the same time a Project Model 2 at $400 and there were more similarities than differences. My first phono stage was a Clearaudio Nano. To cut things to the quick, I was not happy with the Project RM5se. 
I then bought a VPI Classic with Benz Glider and Simaudio LP5.3 on the advice of, and from, Galen Carol. Wow. I got the quality of sound I was used to from digital, but better. Mostly different, but also better. I still feel my VPI Classic with Benz Glider and Simaudio phono stage bests my very high-end (but admittedly old) Classe CDP. 
A year later, I added a Thorens TD124 with a NOS (new old stock, model is discontinued) Ortofon 540MkII and a Simaudio LP3 phono stage. The sound was again different but equally good as my Classic-a bit fuller bodied and more punchy, but not as detailed. Just as fun, addictive as hell, and far more pleasurable than my cdp. 
If price in not an issue, there are lots of very nice table and cartridges and phono stages. 
If price is an object, look at two options; a vintage Thorens, Kenwood, or Yamaha table on AGon rebuilt and refurbished from someone with good feedback or look for a used Technics 1200 or one of these (similar and perhaps better) http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/Stanton-ST-150/products/201/
If you are going vintage, look at moving magnet cartridges. You really can't go wrong with Ortofon (bronze or black) or one of the Soundsmith cartridges (moving iron). 
Don't sweat the phono stage-for now-the Rogue Stealth, Clearaudio Nano, or Musical Surroundings Phonomena are my picks at a relative budget. 
All this said, you are going to need to find a local experienced vinyl addict to set up your table or a very good tech at a bricks and mortar shop (though in my area there is also an audio repair guy who does a fine job at tt set-up). Like cameras (I will never forget my high school photography teacher on the first day of class looking at us with our fancy cameras and saying he could take a better photo with a a cheap point and shoot camera than any of us could take with our parents' fancy SLR 35mm cameras), a cheap turntable set up properly will sound better than a cutting edge table set up poorly. Cartridge alignment and tonearm set-up is not that hard and should not be feared, but it does take some experience. Mike Fremer's turntabel set-up DVD is well worth the price and highly recommended. Invest in a good alignment jig for your particular table. Yip at Mint Protractors does a great job (should you purchase a higher end table). 
One last piece of advice. Invest in a VPI 16.5 or better rcm. Indispensable. 
All this might seem like too much trouble or expense or both. Trust me-if you find vinyl attractive, you will be glad you jumped in. 

 

[christophrowley]

Looking somewhere in the range of £300. 
 
I was looking at stuff like the Pro-ject Genie but from what you've said, going with vintage stuff might be a better idea? 
 
An integrated amp isn't on the cards. I'll primarily be using whatever I buy with my Asgard and occasionally via line in on my Beosound 1. To that end, a phono pre is a necessity is it not? (should've been more specific in my initial post)
 
Spending hours tweaking and honing isn't a bad thing in my book. This setup will be far from static given that I'll be moving it from place to place every few months, so those DVDs you mentioned, FSonicSmith, will probably be my best bet. AFAIK there aren't any audiophile-ish music stores/retailers where I am, but I'll keep my eyes open. 
 
One of the appeals of vinyl to me is that there are so many aspects that can be honed and added to over time. This is a hobby after all. Plus, I'm curious as to the soulful, emotionally communicative sound of vinyl that everyone talks about. 
 
Thank you so much for your help and advice, guys. 

 

[FSonicSmith]

A few nights ago I was looking through my records for something to play with my new Violectric V200 headphone amp and found a record I forgot I had-a copy of Paul and Linda McCartney's "Ram". I bought it when I was in high school and somehow it made it's way from the few remaining records I possessed in my basement all these years into my current record collection (hundreds and hundreds of mostly new vinyl) unnoticed. I pulled it out and the sleeve had yellowed quite a bit. I gave it two passes per side on my VPI 16.5 rcm (that's record cleaning machine in vinylese) and put it on the even older Thorens TD124. I had to laugh-the sound was killer-natural, alive, free of ticks and pops, as if it had been purchased yesterday. Maybe partly due to nostalgia, but I enjoyed the album from start to end immensely-even Linda's sub-par harmonizing that always bothered me before. To think that I had played this record on various cheap turntables when I was in high school and that it had sat in one basement after another for thirty five years and still sounded this good was amazing. This is not always the case, but it is one of the many things that makes vinyl fun.

 

[wespinvinyl]

Bought a second hand Dual 505 from a garage sale, $10. This is a good used choice because you can get service manuals for free from vinylengine.
 
It took a while to clean and sort out all the issues (one of the tonearm wires was not soldered on properly). Purchased a new cartridge, an at95, $25 on ebay i think. Cheap, with many good reviews. Some prefer it over $2000 cartridges (eg Koetsu)
 
Don't buy those expensive stylus force gauges, a cheap pocket digital scale from ebay will do just fine. You can easily make an alignment protractor, print the pdf from vinylengine and stick it on some cardboard. Punch a hole in the middle and off you go.
 
Not high end audiophile, but not a bad start either, considering the amount spent. Don't go down this route if you don't have the time, it is what some might say, a labour of love.