I always find these analog vs digital debates entertaining. Many good points on both sides here, but they are unlikely to convince the many folks that are heavily invested in either, or confused about which path to follow.
In some fundamental ways these two are different experiences. I often compare music to food. Different flavors, textures, aromas, for different occasions, resulting in different experiences. And that, I think, captures the spirit of this debate and the experience of listening to music in an audiophile context.
For one thing, playing vinyl involves many more steps. Proper care and feeding of your equipment and media are essential to your long term enjoyment. It’s fiddly to say the least. And yet I find that selecting a disc, dusting it off and carefully lowering the stylus focuses my attention in a way that helps me to engage in the practice of listening.
It’s necessary to point out that there are many ways to listen and that is only one. I also love to create and listen to playlists and that is something that isn’t really practical with physical media but a total hoot with a streamer and a Tidal description. Exploring new music is another good example. Different horses for different courses. I deeply enjoy both.
But my affection for vinyl is rooted in an episode I had a long time ago. During a visit to Simply Stereo here in the Chicago area back in the 2000’s this very subject came up and they offered to setup a comparison just for me to ‘hear’ what they were talking about. They quickly put together a system of relatively affordable components and asked me to pick out something to play. Cafe Blue by Patricia Barber was then in frequent rotation at my house and seemed like good choice since I knew it to be a great sounding CD.
I was surprised at how easy it was to hear the difference. The CD sounded good but the LP sounded richer and more fleshed out. The differences were easily apparent to me. CDs were supposed to have greater dynamics, but it didn’t sound that way to me. My preconceived notions of the superiority of CD as a format were seriously altered. Over time I eventually upgraded my entire system but bought a Debut Carbon to further explore what I now knew I had been missing. It lead me to where I am today with an RPM-5 and a PS Audio phono-pre and a distinct love of Blue Note reissues.
The most important lesson I have learned in my journey as an audiophile is to trust my own ears. I was a skeptic regarding analog sound until I allowed myself to trust what my own ears were telling me.
Analog playback requires a commitment in time, money, space and effort. It is in many ways out of step with modern life, so the resistance to it is easy to understand. It is not for everyone. But there is something beguiling there that is often difficult for some to quantify or even describe.
So my suggestion is to listen for yourself and then decide if there really is something there for you. Regardless of what you choose you will have learned something from the experience. Maybe even to trust your own ears.