Thanks for the nice reply @daddycool - may be I was being a bity snippy myself.
When there is a newbie question like this, we need to be a bit responsible and not introduce them too quickly to the upgrade drugs on offer… although Linn and Naim may disagree…
As you haven’t got any records yet, get a simple plug and play Rega 3 or 6 to start with. Then buy records and after a while if you decide that you like vinyl, upgrade the deck you have as there are upgrade options in the Rega world.
Because it’s possible to upgrade LP12s there seems to be an assumption that buying an LP12 means endless upgrading. I really don’t get this line. That you can update an LP12 is just an added bonus but the entry level deck at £3,700 is a cracking deck looking at reviews. It’s also (imo) aesthetically beautiful kit. I’m not advising the OP to buy an LP12, my advice would be to nip down to a decent dealer and compare what’s on offer. I’m simply pointing out that the modular nature of the LP12 is no reason to ignore the deck. TBF, if you can live with the look (my wife wouldn’t have one in the house) I suspect a skeletal Rega will take some beating. Audition is surely the correct answer?
Sound advice @DiggyGun and @twofifty, key is the entry point with a simple deck to start the vinyl experience and see if one likes it enough to persist for upgrading equipment and buying records.
Upgrade paths can actually be very simple when buying new from a good dealer and having the budget, but then again what would be left for us to write about on here?
Technics > start with a cheaper one, proceed to new 1500 or 1200GR2, continue to G
Rega > start with a demo P3, proceed to P6/Exact and P8/AniaPro and P10/Aphelion
Linn > buy a new Majik/Minos LP12, add Lingo 4, proceed to Selekt, add Radikal 2
If lightning strikes I could live with a starter system, usually the joy for the buck is enormous, and life is simpler. Just when one is into this it becomes rewarding to up the ante. In my opinion of course.
Absolutely agree. The anti-Linn/only in it for the money views that float around here sometimes are just plain…weird. Even weirder when the originators are LP12 owners who profess to love it.
I don’t mind tribalism so much - I guess I’m pretty much a Naim/Linn (amps/TT) tribalist since the 80’s…never really had much interest in hearing other brands.
I’m pretty convinced that I could not be bothered to change brand (14 yrs ago was the last time, for me just 1 component)…easier to just ascend through the hierarchy/updates of what I am confident in.
Hi Glen, I had missed the part of you being the OP with that kind of a budget. You might want to do some weekend reading in the linked thread below, starting with this post of mine and then the following discussions, the gest of these is that one can do a lot worse than a new/demo Majik LP12 with Minos (or start with a Rega but you’re likely already eyeing the LP12):