Reddit mentions of Denon AVR-989 805-Watt 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

So you want a turntable huh? Welcome to the world of vinyl, where every sound is captured in its purest form and you can transcend into a previously undiscovered dimension of high-fidelity. There's a few things you need to take into account when shopping for a record player:

• Obviously, your budget.
  
  
• Your high-fidelity listening experience and on what equipment.
  
  
• Your supporting equipment such as speakers/headphones, amplifier, preamplifier, stylus, and even cables when you get into high quality equipment.
  
  When shopping for musical equipment, always start from the bottom up. If you let someone else do all the research for you, you will end up buying very expensive equipment you don't need/won't understand/won't be able to appreciate. My father blew thousands of dollars on hi-fi receivers, speakers, subs, and more based entirely off of what the assholes at Best Buy told him, but he has no idea how any of it works and he has it set up so that the sound quality is of speakers one-tenth the price.
  
  Your listening experience is what should really determine how much you splurge. Switching from listening to mp3s with Beats/iPod earphones to vinyls and hi-fi speakers/headphones is a massive audio transition that your ears will have a long and hard time transitioning to. Don't jump straight in to the deep side of the pool, because you will drown in the depth of the sound. Also, and more importantly, an inexperienced listener won't have the ability to tell the difference between an entry-level turntable and a thousand-dollar feat of engineering. If you don't want to get overwhelmed and you don't want to waste your money, you need to start with entry-level equipment.
  
  Note that by "entry-level" I don't mean cheap or gimmicky. I mean the first tier of the high-quality pyramid. The first step in a new world. Entry-level equipment can still be relatively expensive, but nothing to the dozens of thousands some golden-ear audiophiles shell out for the ultimate listening experience. This is where you need to look at your supporting equipment.
  
  A turntable will be a serious upgrade to your audio experience, but what are you going to hook it up to? If you jam to an iHome or Skullcandy headphones that you bought at Walgreens, you would probably get more value physically eating the money you plan on buying a turntable with. You will not be getting vinyl-quality sound, so again, I say look into entry-level speakers or headphones if you don't have some already. A good pair of headphones will be cheaper than a full surround sound speaker set and subwoofer. You can find out more about audiophile-quality speakers and headphones on blogs and forums such as The Audiophiliac, head-fi, and my personal favorite, Innerfidelity.
  
  I became an aspiring audiophile only a year ago, so my knowledge is limited. Most audiophiles are older men and women with the experience and money to recreate high-quality sound, so I am always pushing my equipment to get the maximum dollar-for-dollar value possible. Here is my progression of equipment:
  
  
• Audio-Technica ATH-M30 headphones. They were $40 when I got them and they were the biggest single improvement in sound I ever made. I listened to them primarily through my laptop, and at first my ears could not process all the different sounds going on in the higher-quality tracks in my iTunes library. Hence my recommendation to ease into the hi-fi market.
  
  
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50. These are the workhorse of the Audiophile world. The most popular and most trusted headphone model, and in the opinion of very many, the best cans you can get under $200 or even more. Being only $60 more than the M30's, these are the cans I recommend starting off with. After six months with them I'm still learning to fully appreciate their depth of sound.
  
  
• Onkyo TX-SR503. This was my first amplifier and also doubled as the receiver for my home sound system. I found it cleared the sound slightly and at high volume keeps the sound clear, along with allowing to play the music at much higher volumes than a laptop, mp3 player, or built-in amplifier can when you just want to drown out your world in a bravado of highs and lows. Amplifiers are the most technical-heavy with a wide array of statistics which allow you to judge their quality, but the numbers side is my weakest side, so I encourage you to research on your own the stats like Ohms, Watts, etc.
  
  
• Audio-Technica AT-LP60. Buying a record player was the best choice I ever made in improving my listening experience. Of course I'm biased, but I find that the AT-LP60 is as good as it gets for any turntable under $200, and it's only $80. My first record was a pristine copy of "Bad" by Michael Jackson. Hearing that record for the first time through those ATH-M50's was a turning point in my life. No longer was I content with 192kbps torrents. The crystal clarity; the thumping lows and chiming highs; the sheer bliss of hearing MJ's "hee hees" and "shamonas" as if he was in the room was fucking righteous.
  
  
• Denon AVR-989. Just like the Onkyo, this is an audio/video receiver that also functions as my amplifier. I did not get this to improve sound quality (which it does although), I got this because it was donated to Goodwill by either a Saudi oil tycoon or an elderly citizen who was intimidated by it and it was selling for $40, so I wasn't turning down that opportunity. If you are just looking for a sound amplifier though, I encourage you to look into a tube amplifier. They look and sound incredible.
  
  After this there are all sorts of other improvements you can make to your listening experience such as purchasing custom styluses and cables, but trust me when I say that will be unnecessary for a little while. I recommend starting with a basic stack of turntable, amplifier, and speakers/headphones. My personal recommendation is the ATP-L60, ATH-M50, and a solid tube amp or receiver. If you are curious about other headphone options, here is a beginner's guide to buying headphones, and here is a ridiculously in-depth review of 107 different headphone models, along with a chart with the review statistics.
  
  I think this is enough to get you started and hopefully I've spawned the quest of an aspiring audiophile! High-fidelity sound can change your life. It can heighten your senses and alter you view of life. I know it definitely has for me. If you have any other questions you can of course message me, but I recommend posting on those forums where audiophiles with 40+ years of listening experience and a vast wealth of technical knowledge are always looking to help new listeners like us.
  
  TL;DR Know your shit. Don't get ripped off.