Q: What do you have to say about vinyl? Do you have any advice for those looking to get started with phonograph records?

A: Vinyl is a great hobby and a worthy addition to any sound system. Not only does vinyl's warm, natural sound quality satisfy in a way digital sources often do not, it's easy and fun to explore new kinds of music via clean and cheap used records sold at resale shops. It's clearly experiencing a renaissance as many record labels are publishing new music on vinyl again.

First, does your receiver have a phono input? If not, you will need a phono preamplifier. Until recently an acceptable one cost at least $100, but a longtime reader tipped me off to a decent offering for only $25, the MicroPhono PP400 from LP Gear at www.lpgear.com. It's a good choice for casual vinyl users and those on a very tight budget. If you want to step up a bit for better sound quality, consider the Pro-Ject Phono Box II for $159 and the Bellari VP129 for $250.

If you have an old turntable you want to put into use, a new cartridge is a good investment. The top entry-level choice is the critically acclaimed Audio-Technica AT95E at $49.95, available exclusively from LP Gear. Look to Shure's MX97xe for $79.95 if you want to step up a bit. P-Mount turntable owners should check out the $60 Grado Black.

If you need a new turntable, the best budget buy is the $349 Pro-Ject Debut III. It includes a preinstalled cartridge and is available in many designer colors. The Debut III will provide a proper vinyl experience and bring out sounds and textures in your records you never knew existed. Also available is the Debut III USB, incorporating a phono preamplifier and a USB port. This gives you the best of both worlds -- an audiophile-quality turntable and computer connectivity. It sells for $499. See Pro-Ject products at www.sumikoaudio.net.

Also worthy of consideration is the Technics SL-1200. Though commonly used as a DJ turntable, the SL-1200 was developed as an audiophile turntable and has outstanding technical and sonic performance. Affectionately called "The Wheel of Steel" on vinyl discussion boards, the SL-1200 is fuss-free, utterly reliable and built like a tank. The best place to get an SL-1200 is at KAB Electro Acoustics at www.kabusa.com, where they sell for $475 without cartridge. Besides the good price, KAB's proprietor Kevin Barrett is probably the world's foremost SL-1200 authority and personally mounts the cartridge and sets up the turntable before it ships. The Shure MX97xe is a good match for the SL-1200 and is available from KAB.

If vinyl is going to be the centerpiece of your system, then you should devote a significant part of your system investment to your turntable setup. If you can't get the music out of the grooves, you will never hear it in the speakers later. Though you can easily spend over $100,000 (that's right, six zeros) on a turntable, for $999 you can get a top performer with magical sound, the Pro-Ject RM-5SE. It comes with a highly regarded cartridge that is a perfect match to its carbon-fiber arm, and the RM-5SE looks cool, too ... like a teardrop with a record floating on top.