I'm posting this in the Whammy Bar because it isn't directly guitar related, yet I'm sure people on TFF has knowledge, experience and opinions on the subject, so here goes:
I have a relatively extensive collection of vinyl LPs from (mostly) the 60s and 70s. Ten years ago or so, I picked up a turntable (my audiophile system long bereft of a one) some standard audio cables, a pre-amp, some cable-to-3.5mm adapters, and some software so I could record to my computer and save output as mp3.
Mind you, I'm talking about technology that wasn't mature yet, and since then, I have misplaced most of these items. I just discovered the turntable has stopped working, so I'm eyeing the idea of starting with a blank slate. I'm looking into turntable systems that have the ability to either convert directly to MP3, or that can be hooked up to a computer without the pre-amp and all the cables and such.
The genesis for this idea came from Musician's Friend's Stupid Deal of the Day, which is a Gemini TT-900WW turntable and speaker system which, for $99 seems to be a nice little bookshelf record playing system, but it doesn't have any output other than its speakers, that I can tell.
So, now I'm looking specifically online at turntables. Right now, the Sony PS-HX500 seems to check all the boxes, but it's a little on the pricey side for what I intend to use it for. Still, it may be the one I go to if I can't find a better (and cheaper) alternative.
Anyone else done this? What's your experience, and what are your recommendations?