[deadmetheny]

I don't really consider myself an audiophile, but I do love music and vinyl. My general suggestion if someone wants to buy new is an Audio-Technica LP 120X turntable and a pair of Klipsh R-51M bookshelf speakers. The 120x has most of the features a newbie will want/need, and the speakers are fairly low priced while still sounding pretty good (although they're not quite as punchy on the bass as I'd personally like). The setup will probably run around $500, but the turntable won't make mincemeat of your records like a cheapo Crosley.

Of course, the real answer is to find vintage equipment at a local audio place, but that isn't always easy for newbs and is a bit dependent on your local music nerd community.

[tinco]

That's one thing I've always wondered about with the vinyl scene. My dad's an audio enthusiast, and he once told me that when my mom and he had 2 incomes and no kids yet he bought a diamond tip for his record player for hundreds of dollars.

So that's a crazy thing that the thing that would make your record have the best audio quality, will also just rip into your record so bad it will probably also immediately be the last time you could listen to it at that quality.

He swapped his collection to CD's the second that became a reasonable option.