Here's a fire starter: Analog is as good as SACD

"a) My system is not capable of resolving the difference in sound quality between analog to analog and analog to digital."

I think you should upgrade your tonearm and you will hear a significant improvement in your analog reproduction.

@lak
That’s where I;ll probably go next. I’m looking at Zu or Canare 4S11.
There are good deals on both on the Bay. May as well get the 2 to 4 bis.

@jperry
I think I’d have to spend a pile of cash to better the Sumiko/Jelco. Any cost effective suggestions? I like to roll headshells and have cartridges from 4.8 to 6.8 grams and compliance from 9 to 22.

I would look for a used SME V or variant. I think SME made a SME 345 especially for the Oracle TT. The 345 had detachable headshells. Another thought is a used Basis Vector, a Graham, etc. The Vector has a fixed headshell and the Graham has detachable arm wands.

Don't underestimate how much improvement this might give you. 

I can’t quite be sure that I hear anything but minor tonal differences.

That’s the trick the ear is good at. Timing of transient function in the intermixing of harmonics... sorting out those intermixing bits. The high frequency extension may not all be there but the timing skills in harmonic intermixing is still there and will not really ever leave you. You are ’getting it’ just fine.

Running that incredibly complex ’tied to the world’s finest supercomputer’ (a human brain-fact) signal’s equation backward, reveals that the ear- brain’s analytical function FAR EXCEEDS the digital system’s resolution. Any extant or projected system to be.

Training the ear brain is another matter altogether and is also tied to the given various and individual Ear-Q of the given person. We are all different and we have dumb/slow ear-brains vs smart/fast ear-brains. It’s a physicality thing, it runs the range and gamut like all other human capacities as seen across the potential human ranges of skills in subjects.

There’s a bit more to it than that, but the next point is that you will get ’windmill tilting’ on the forums that is equivalent to a small group of individuals who don’t understand the complexity and the breadth of the subject. A small group... who angrily weigh in on it and thus tilt the given impressions of the situation to being that ’everyone’ seems to think such open and competent analysis of the scenario (analysis, orientation, direction and science which fits the data!) ----is crazy.

The reality is that they are a tiny minority of the population of people who could have and have read the given posts. Look at the number of views vs the number of angry deriding posters and you’ll quickly realize you are dealing with a very vocal tiny minority of detractors. The vast sea of viewers and readers are silent, as they pick no bone with the given analysis.

The science of what I’m saying is all out there and it is rarely shared by the electronic and audio oriented competent, as this is a part of their lore and intelligence - as tied to putting bread on the table. They owe the vociferous detractors exactly squat.

@teo_audio,
Thanks for the encouragement. Your neurophysiologic explanation resonates with some of my experiences. Perhaps the fiscally wise approach would be to stop the education.........Nah! ;^)