Distinctly Digital Forever?

@hickamore 

  I am not sure why I should care a fig what Harry Pearson thought about anything.

I find his whole concept of “Absolute Sound” interesting in the abstract but completely divorced from real world considerations.  If you live in a concert hall, then yes, aspire to have equipment that can approximate the sound of real musicians playing acoustic instruments in that space.  Most of us live in less spacious quarters which renders that criteria of dubious value.  Also, since most popular music depends heavily on what a mixing engineer cooks up, his criteria again are of little value in the genre preferred by 98% of the listening public.  My preferred genre is Classical, but it isn’t immune to recording trickery as well.

  For the record (pun intended),I greatly prefer the enhanced dynamic range and quieter background that digital offers.  I began to yearn for this during the late seventies.  When I heard my first CD, I was in ecstasy.  I believe that people who prefer analog sound are in fact enjoying artifacts.

  Having said that, I recently bought a turntable so that I can play lps that are unavailable (or were poorly transferred) digitally.  For me it is the first turntable I’ve owned that approximates the virtues of digital.  It is a Direct Drive, and when I posted about it in the analog section here, some people told me that it was a bad thing because “Direct Drives sound digital”.  To which I say, bring it on.

  However, your preferred ideal seems to be FM radio.  We all have the right to enjoy what we like, but this incomprehensible to me.  And yes, I have heard high end FM tuners.  They can sound warm and fuzzy like cuddling up with a nice soft throw on a cold winter day, but you might as well stick a pond of cotton in each ear if you like to hear musical detail.  If that is your ideal, why are you bothering to listen to digital at all?

@mahler123 

"If that is your ideal, why are you bothering to listen to digital at all?"

Same reason others do: (1 )convenience (2) sound effects are exciting. Just doesn't work for me late on quiet evenings when I want authenticity in the sound of folk rock or baroque ensemble.

Tubes will probably get you there.  I would get a tubed DAC and consider pairing it with a really gauzy sounding tubed amplifier such as Prima Luna.  Be aware that not all tubed components will give that big mellifluous sound- I use a Cary SLP 3 which expands the soundstage but still has a low noise floor and lots of detail.  Prima Luna, however emphasize the traditional tube virtues, and can be very warm and enveloping.  It can be a very addictive sound.  It is to full fat for me, but like a piece of tiramisu a very special occasional treat, and since our listening ideals differ you might find it to your liking.

  One other thought—do the latest FM tuners accept digital inputs-essentially offering pre amp capability?  If they did then that might be worth exploring 

Prima Luna is one that I have considered, but not yet auditioned. However, my problem is not with FM or TT, it's with streaming. Tuner needs no digital inputs -- in fact, needs no inputs period. Tuner is a pure output device that runs straight to tube preamp, 100% analog. Now, digital DACS -- those are very much in play, and since streaming is 80-90% of my listening, the Prima Luna + tube DAC might well be of help there too. So PL 400 is definitely on the short list, thanks.