I think its nice this post is so open and honest with no flaming going on!

Merlin - I think you have a fair point about the no necessarily cheap price of used vinyl....  second hand record shops are £3 -£14 for vinyl, netsounds is £4 and above..

My recent experiences at FOPP have given me a much larger number of albums to buy at a fiver each on CD (brand new) than I get on vinyl.

As  you've also said, its a pain in the ass to turn it over every 30 minutes.

For me , its the fluidity which takes me away from the ... somewhat artificial method of listening to music through a hifi.. and its really special, with the right record on etc. 

I wouldnt be without a CDP though, its too damn conveniant .. and can sound pretty good (again with the right CD..)

Merlin - I see you're in Bucks like me. Have you been to FOPP in Leamington Spa? - Id reccomend it, you'll get a stack of cheap music if you havent been. Its a nice town too.

Interestingly,

when I compared a Belcanto (evo 2) to a Conrad Johnson  pwr amp at a shop - the Belcanto won hands down on the poly harvey/thom yorke track I played. With the poor recording of the strokes however, the CJ made the record more enjoyable... that in essence is the trade off of SS/Valve for me... its the very colouration that a valve amp gives the warmth and slight midband boost that makes the most of any recording. To hear the best recorded music sound the best it possibly can - Id go with the best of solid state - like a Belcanto (which is the best solid stater Ive heard yet).... but to get the best out of any recording, Id go with a valve amp... all just IMHO of course.

I think Ive made the same compromise with my valve DAC. A loss of detail retrieval, a loss of precision and accuracy, but now I can listen to more CD's than ever before without leaving the couch to do something else.. horses for courses of course.

Apart from a different hifi in every room, I dont think you can win.... better start saving!