How do you get the best sound from Vinyl?

I still have a large collection of records - both LP and 45's.

I was just listening to one the other day...

The "Warm" sound is generally due to the different way in which records were pressed over how CD's are mastered these days.

Records use the RIAA standard, which specifically boost the bass frequencies and attenuates the treble frequencies by a pre-determined amount.

If you were to connect a record player cartridge to an amplifier, and listen to it, it would sound disgusting - all treble and no bass. This is because of the fact that you had not applied the RIAA characteristic to the signal coming off the cartridge, and that the cartridge(any magnetic type, expensive or not) is not efficent at low frequencies - it has a limited dynamic range, in other words.

This is why we need the RIAA equalization curve at all.

You can read about the RIAA equalization curve in more detail here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA_equalization

When played back, the record player pre-amp circuit applies this RIAA waveform to the sound picked up from the cartridge. This generally results in a slightly more deep bass and not so harsh trebles then from a CD.

The CD medium has such a wide dynamic range, that there is essentially no processing required for playback past the original mix. Digital processing does not differentiate between low and high frequencies - it's all just a data-stream to a CD player, so provided the DAC(digital-to-analog converter) in the CD player is of good quality, the sound from CD players will always be good.

There are two types of record player cartridges: Ceramic and Magnetic. Ceramic cartridges are very cheap, and hence, don't provide very good results in my opinion. Magnetic cartridges, sometimes referred to as "Moving Magnet Cartridge" produce much more HiFi results, and you should not consider a record player with anything but a magnetic cartridge if you want to experience that "Warm" sound.

You can read all about how all this works in more detail here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_cartridge

Stay away from cheap garbage - they tend to use ceramic cartridges, and the sound is inferior to that of the magnetic cartridge models.

Unfortunately the sound quality from a turntable is most affected by the media you're playing. I think you can look online and get a decent turntable for about 200 dollars or less. I wouldn't invest anymore until you decide you enjoy it. Most websites that mass sell electronics only offer a handful of options. The reason the sound is "warmer" is because it is not very clean. Unlike a cd, a physical needle touches the grooves ijn the record and recieves the sound. The warmth is the scratches, however minor, and cracks and even dust that are on the record itself. A cd comes from the same source, (master tapes), but because it is recieved and played digitally it is a very clean sound, and the quality of player can greatly influence how good the sound is. Having said that, if you don't have a good reciever or speaker system, that CAN influence things, and can cost a great deal of money. Bottom line is, buy a cheap record player, and some records before you decide you want to go whole hog. It is not high tech equipment, and if you're just starting out you probably are not going to be using it for scratching right now so you don't really need the high end.

Just make a trip on this site and you will find the answers to all your questions:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/

Good luck!!