Digital has SOUL as long as the mastering was done right and you have a well made and designed player. Early digital was like the 78 record, and like analog, it improved over time, as more was understood about this new technology.
The one advantage vinyl has if your a boomer is the records when 1st pressed came from master tape (1st 100,000) that was fresh, digital had to work with the same tapes if found that could be 30-50 years old. So if you had the 1st pressing and it was mastered well then you will have good Sonics and perhaps better than a cd mastered well of the same album because of the years of damage done to the tape, and even if they could find the master tape anymore, most used back-up tapes.
Digital had to work with these old tapes, had to remaster them, and in some case remix them. The knock on digital is not fair and this constant attack on CD medium is for one reason only, too try to keep a hobby that is dying going and get younger people involved.
Having owned both Vinyl and Digital I can say I enjoyed both as much as long as they are mastered right, a lot of vinyl sounded just poor, just like CD's.
I have learned using digital that noise is #1 issue, vinyl issues are many, and one of course is the coloration of platter, arm and cart chosen, none of this is bad because in the end you choose the "sound" of your liking. Nevertheless, a turntable is not going through electronics to reproduce music like a cd player, preamp, or amp do.
Stereophile and others reviewed CD and players and said superb sound, outstanding detail and imaging etc. So now, they say it sounds like crap and the masses follow and of course something new to market and sell.
Recorded music is dying, sales are down no matter the format, and for good reason the boomers are older, younger folks buy tracks not whole album anymore. Vinyl sales account for .05% of the market so folks this is the last hurrah for all formats, so collect while you can.
CD did one thing good for us all and that was making available LP’s that would never have seen the light of day again. So much music was released due to the popular new format that studios saw they could resell the same old LP again in a new format, sounds like the down load push to me, though much less will be released.
I know many of my CD’s will not see the light of day, and I really don’t want to lose the feel and touch of my music collection.
Moreover, let us be honest do you need great systems for Rap, Hip-Hop, Corporate Pop, and Rock County music that been processed to death.
Not to mention the newest trend in recording mastering, make very thing the same loudness and in your face. The new Paul McCartney CD's are just awful, makes the DCC Gold CD's sound like works of art and they are from the early 90's.
You don’t have the great studios anymore, the great producers, and people all playing together in one room with out all the massive over mixing that is done today, they is where the Soul went. Folks laying their tracks down then going home, and let the producers make the recording. It has no Soul.
Folks garbage in and garbage out, do not blame the messenger or the format. Both can sound very good, but neither sounds like the master tape (which none of us have ever heard) nor live music.
This endless debate is useless. Enjoy what you have, and stop being lead by the marketing mags like TAS and Stereophile and others. I find them full of hot air to be polite. They really have an agenda for the manufactures that pay them with ads, and most of all huge discounts on audio gear, and extended loaners for god know how long.
Brings to my mind the radio payola scandals of the 50’s and 60’s and the day of record reps dropping off tons of product free so the store would push them. Think of all magazines as advertisements for product, just like a travel magazine.
Enjoy the music of your choice.
