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Digital is far better than vinyl

I have invested a decent sum of money into my digital setup, including a decent streamer (Innuos Zenith MK3), a very good dac (Denafrips Terminator 2), Eno filter, and good cabling. But after being told by many here that vinyl is vastly superior to digital, I thought let’s build an analog system and see what all the fuss is about. So this is what I did ...

I picked up an Audio Technica TT from Amazon for around $299. I then used one of the older integrated amps with a built-in phono, which I believe I paid around $500 a few years ago. And, finally, just to even out the playing field I bought the cheapest possible cables from alibaba. Since I didn’t have extra rack space to put the TT on, I got a couple of bricks and built a DIY platform for it.

So after listening to the analog setup for a few days, I can proclaim without a shadow of doubt that digital is far, far superior than vinyl on any given day, and twice a day on Sunday.

What has been your experience? And please, don’t mention your gear or any special. cartridges, isolation, etc. Not interested in your system details. I just want to make sure you guys understand that digital is far, far superior than vinyl.

128x128arafiq
thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 

The OP came to this broad conclusion using a…wait for it…Node as a streamer and its internal DAC as his “benchmark” for streaming quality compared to a much more expensive vinyl setup. Totally absurd and worthy of parody

Ah…. Now I get it @soix . I was wondering for a moment Jason Bourne angry dude with glasses had hacked @arafiq ’s account 😂

 

The story about Node and vinyl setup does not surprise me one bit. I have encountered actual cases like this too many times to count. Why? Well, because digital is just zeroes and one, it either works or it doesn’t, so digital gear does not matter. Yup

jl1ny's avatar
jl1ny
419 posts
 

Comparing $8K digital setup to a $800 analog rig is pure genius. 😂

drmuso's avatar
drmuso
108 posts
 

@lalitk 

The record player in that video you shared is amazing!  It can make Howlin' Wolf sound just like Dave Brubeck!

thecarpathian's avatar
thecarpathian
4,400 posts
 

I believe the compact version is called the Quarter Sounder...🤣

Yeah, sorry.

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,726 posts
 

@arafiq 

Sorry I can’t help on the analog side, but I am curious about the Eno digital filter. I went to their website and they said I’d be stunned by the results of installing one, but I have no real idea what it’s supposed to be doing.  So can you tell me? BTW, I am new to streaming and have a Node N130 and a Denafrips Pontus ll.

Thanks in advance.

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