Is there a consensus as to blu ray sound quality?

Well, we divide there...there is something inherently wrong with music reproduction digital, probably because,as you point out, it is such an approximation of the original event.
I wasn't kidding when I said that about a SOTA table, a Zeta Arm and a Koetsu cart. I have yet to hear any digital which sounds as much like real music as that. This will no doubt spark all kinds of controversy, but TO MY EARS ONLY, I haven't hear that kind of fidelity on a CD player, or other device which plays discs.
Keep in mind that I've heard really good digital, and own an Exemplar (now somewhat dated) with a Denon Chassis, and active tube loads by John Tucker. I've also, in years gone by been infatuated with the Goldmund Digital during certain eras. There are too many to name--yet I still don't get the 'goosebump' factor with digital that I have with really good analog.
The early CD's were just awful. Back in the early days of, "Oh, it's perfect, it's digital, died quickly in all but the 'ticks and pops suck' camps. And I get that the noise floor is unacceptable to some if not many listeners. It's just that what's added by the turntable experience in this noise floor, is not nearly as bothersome TO ME, as what's missing, that being greater harmonic purity and presence.
It would be interesting to let a group of the youngers of us to compare a really good table, arm and cart, to a really good player of today's offerings. I haven't seen that done lately.
How do you compare these two, K?

Lrsky - I don't have enough experience to judge and I use digital for the practicality of it. It doesn't make much difference to me what sounds better if I cannot buy record at all.

If digital is inherently flawed, as you suggested, how about sound of LPs made from digital master tapes - are they all bad sounding? If not, then perhaps media and players are still not up to the task (but might be in future).

I don't defend digital and it is likely that I don't have good enough ears but I read some glowing editorial reviews of SACD players.

Nobody argues about quality of the first CDs. Not only that it often contained jitter acquired in poor A/D processing (impossible to remove) but also had poor equalization/mixing. Also remember that CD players were really bad then.

Your point about digital tape masters leads me back to the original query here...what is it about the 'read' of CD's, or vibrations, or reflections, or poor pressings, or whatever, that makes the 'mechanical act of a cd', less desirable, to me at least than digital tapes?
I completely understand the theology behind 16 bit limited, but somehow that isn't the whole issue with CD's.
Why are 'gifted and talented' producers like Winston Ma using gold and silver, I believe CD's? What difference would that make??? What difference SHOULD that make, and why.
Why, if we're reading all the data with a laser, would cleaning the disc, have such a profound effect on the sound? I know it does, I've done blindfold listening sessions with friends who are music lovers and they correctly identify a 'cleaned' disc versus a not cleaned disc.
Before we get too basic with the answers, think about the implication of 'we're reading all the data', when Digital Tapes sound, (to me) different, and sometimes completely, than the mechanical CD or DVD players.


"All disc's are created equal, some are just more equal than others." paraphrase from G. O. 1984
Sorry, I couldn't help myself

Lrsky - I suspect that better reflection from CD translates somehow to a little lower jitter which is irrelevant if you have jitter suppressing DAC. There might be some improvements with cleaning, balancing, painting edges with green ink etc but I don't want to play this game. I want better technology. I would be willing to compromise with SACD but I can see what happened with HDCD and DVD-Audio. Many Blue Ray don't support SACD and one of the latest editorials in Stereophile claim that format is dead.

As for all discs created equal - I hope you're not saying that he wrote it in 1984? (that would be spooky - he died 1950)

The original quote about equality with some being more equal than others is actually from the book "Animal Farm". The original was referring to pigs. I believe it was the character Napoleon (the pig) who said it in the book.