Why did it take so long

I think the original question posed by the OP,  in itself proves the point that its taken a long time for digital to get on par with a good analog playback. Outside of listening to music live and unless you had a mastering quality reel2reel in your living room, for most of us oldtimers the baseline and the frame of reference for sound quality has always been vinyl sound. So, it is true that it's taken many years for digital to win the competition with analog and in some respects win it. Moving parts always cost more so it'll take a lot more money to build an analog rig that can compare with a digital one in terms of sound quality.

Some evidence that digital still doesn’t retrieve all the information that’s in the “grooves.” Not by a long shot. You’ve come a long way, Baby! But you have a long way to go! 🤠

A. Demagnetizing interconnects, CDs and power cords, e.g., Walker Talisman.

B. Ionizing CDs, interconnects and power cords or Anti Static spray.

C. Applying CD treatments, I.e. Auric Illuminator, Liquid Resolution (RIP), whatever.

D. CD edge beveler/angle cutter.

E. Green Pen for outer edge of CD, Black Pen for inner edge.

F. Silver Rainbow Foil.

G. CD mats such as Marigo.

H. Getting the CD absolutely level during play (as opposed to level of top of chassis).

I. Using a green or turquoise tray instead of black.

J. Isolating the CD player.

K. Freezing or cryoing CDs.

L. Freezing or cryoing the CD player.

This is only evidence that jitter from a CD transport can be reduced with tweaks. Nothing to do with the integrity of the data reads.

The same thing can be done by simply adding a Synchro-Mesh reclocker in the S/PDIF cable. None of these tweaks will have any effect on jitter once you do this. It’s only about reducing jitter.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio