Welcome to the group. I'll refrain from making any recommendations/suggestions, beings I'm returning to this hobby after years of abscence. But there are many very knowledgable folks here who will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Keep reading, for the answers will be coming shortly.

Glad you're here.

Mike

Quote - "I'm new to the vinyl tradition and hoping to break ground, at least intellectually."

Welcome! Now I have a question: what is it that makes you want to "break ground"? Do you have a large collection of music you love on vinyl or are you just curious why some of us believe good vinyl reproduction sounds better than the available digital formats?

Tell us a little more and we'll be better able to offer useful responses.

How much are you willing to spend?

Plan on spending around $300 for a good entry level turntable and $150 or so for a phono preamp if you choose to buy one separately, or find an amplifier you like that doesn't have one. Some amplifiers and receivers have phono inputs, which would eliminate the need for a separate component. Jim Tavegia, one of our veteran members, has turned me onto this deal:

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3964198

It comes with a phono input and, for $200, you can't beat it with a stick.

Since it sounds like you might be needing a whole new system, I'll say plan on $2-300 for a nice little pair of bookshelf speakers. Those and the Harman receiver will help you appreciate the vinyl on a hi-fi level.

I know you're not ready to be buying anything yet (trust me, I understand how that goes), but I thought I'd give you some things to think about. As far as turntables go, I recommend listening to the Rega P1 ($350). Rega are famous for their turntables and build them simply, with special attention to the most important parts. I've listened to the P1 a lot and enjoy it quite a bit. If you want to get a taste of quality analog, Rega will give you a pretty big bite.

I hope I didn't feed you too much information too quickly. It can be pretty overwhelming when you are first looking to get into playing records on a nice system. If you have any other questions (or if I didn't quite hit the nail on the head with this response), don't hesitate to ask. Some of the more experienced members, like Cheapskate, can give you even more insight. It's great to hear that you like vinyl and want to improve your listening experience. You have a lot of great choices, even on a modest budget. It's loads of fun and always interesting!

Welcome to the fold,

Erik

Nice job, Erik.

I'm not a vinyl guy, but welcome!! As my name indicates, I can sure relate to a lack of funds!
This is a great place to learn and most everyone here is friendly & helpful even to us guys w/ few funds!
If you can swing it, may I suggest subscribing to the mag if you haven't already. It's
around $12 for a year & is a good read! You can order here on the site.

Thanks!

Don't know how deep you want to go with the technical stuff. Many manufacturers' websites have short, informative write-ups tht may help you. Of course the internet has too.

For turntables, a "good" one usually means one that I can afford that's much better than what I currently have. When I started in audio, my first hifi table was a Dual. It was the first one that allow me to reduce the tracing force (down force of the stylus on the groove of the LP) to near 1 gram. The old Sears recordplayer tracked at 5 to 10 gram range. So you gain by reducing record wear. It also has anti-skating (the counter torque applied to balance the force that tends to drag a pivoted tonearm toward tie center of the record).

The better tables will be "steadier", better speed control, constancy of speed RPM, quietness of operation and sound (doesn't generate or pass on vibrations), etc.

I don't have that many LPs, and want to get more. On some really good LPs, I find the presence of the sound more real than on CDs. On the other hand there are CDs that sound clearer than LPs in my collection. A good turntable and cartridge combination can give you the "you are there" sensation. You'd be surprised at what is really in a record groove when the signal is recovered properly from a very good turntable/cartridge. Poor gear doesn't let the whole signal through, perhaps causing many to misjudge the LPs vs. CDs.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.