I say go for it!! I love my turntable, completely blows away my $4,000 digital front end without question. I only spent less then $1,000 for my analog front end to boot. I am running a VPI HW-19 with a modified Grado cart that I got for about $750, my pre-amp is a Cambridge Audio 640P for about $175.00. I spent a bunch of money in cleaning materials but average about $1.00 record when I buy a collection used from someone off Craigslist.com. Cheap money for such incredible sound.
I also bought a nice original Thorens when I bought my VPI & it sound amazing as well, I only paid $250.00 for it, you can't beat the sound of vinyl for the money. Eventually I am sure I will have a ton of money into my analog rig, it is so enjoyable. It is what music SHOULD sound like, I am hooked.