I don't mean this to come off as flippant, but vinyl is highly over-rated by "the kids these days." I say this as someone who grew up with it in the 70s and 80s, and still have at least 1,000 records that are great at collecting dust and weighing me down.
Unless your father collected audiophile-quality vinyl, you don't need all that stuff. I'm constantly baffled by "the kids'" fascination with pre-amps and processors and whatnot. I've used the same system for 25 years, which is very close to the system my father had when I was a kid. A mid-tier Technics turntable plugged in (via RCA) to an Onkyo receiver/amp, which the speakers plug into. In today's prices, you can hook that up for under $300.
That's all you need. You can go with as many boutique pieces as you like, but they won't fix old vinyl. And even if the vinyl is pristine, you might be shocked to find out it's really not that different than a decent CD. The "benefits" of audiophile vinyl are not apparent until you've invested upwards of $10K into a system to play your untouched records, and another $10K into a dedicated listening room.
tl;dr I understand and respect your desire to connect with your father through vinyl. But don't get wrapped up in the technical stuff, just plug in whatever and enjoy the music. That’s an “authentic experience,” and how we did it “back in the day.”
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