2. analog
  3. 140184-113812

Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD

Long story short, i've just brought home a VPI classic 1 mounted with a Zu-Denon DL103 on JMW Memorial 10.5 with the appropriate heavier counterweight. Had everything dialed in..perfect azimuth, VTF, overhang, with only a slightly higher than perfect VTA. Levelling checked. All good. 

I did a comparison between the VPI and my Esoteric X03SE and it's not even close. The Esoteric completely crushes the VPI in all regards. The level of treble refinement, air, decay, soundstage depth and width, seperation, tonality, overall coherence is just a simply a league above from what I'm hearing from the VPI. The only area the VPI seems to be better at is bass weight, but not by much. 

I'm honestly quite dumbfounded here. I've always believed that analogue should be superior to digital. I know the Esoteric is a much pricier item but the VPI classic is supposed to be a very good turntable and shouldn't be a slouch either. At this point I feel like I should give up on analogue playback and invest further in digital. 

Has anyone had a similar experience comparing the best of digital to a very good analogue setup?

Equipment:
Esoteric X03SE 
VPI Classic, JMW Memorial 10.5, Zu-DL103
Accuphase C200L
Accuphase P600
AR 90 speakers

Test Record/CD:
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Redbook vs MOV 180g reissue)



chadsort
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
P.S. to my previous post: I see also that the specified nominal impedance of the cartridge is 45 ohms. Applying a 100 ohm load to a 45 ohm signal source will result in a loss of nearly 1/3 of the signal voltage, in addition to numerous other kinds of adverse interactions that can occur when the source is a phono cartridge.

Also, I'm of course assuming that you are using the 100 ohm setting.  If by any chance you are using 10 ohms or 30 ohms, look no further for the major contributor to the problem.

Regards,
-- Al
jmolsberg's avatar
jmolsberg
467 posts
 
and just like that, the vinyl crowd was all over chad like white on rice (:
 
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
Something is very wrong.....there are some aspects of CD that are very good, but in truth, LP in properly setup system Is better.  Check your setup,....cartrige, pre.....etc.
roberjerman
4,319 posts
 
@almarg : You are correct! 10 times the cartridge impedance is about the proper loading for an MC!
rodman99999
6,158 posts
 
@ jmolsberg - And most: presenting possible reasons, for the(unlikely) scenario. Is there a problem?
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