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
digital is getting pretty good these days. i heard a system the other day and was pretty blown away with how far it has come. there is still something very special about vinyl but get that wallet out.
@chadsort: Again, how many LP's do you own? Could you give an answer? Thank's

R.
Honestly i don’t care about digital at all, i just don’t want digital to be played in my system, also i don’t want a computer screen between the speakers, many people don’t mind, but i hate computers and TV screens. What i like is music on original vinyl records (not on reissues). Sold all my CDs in the late 90s and never lookid back (an awful media).

In my opinion analog is analog. If you want to compete with digital you need a high-resolution cartridge first, definitely not Zu-Denon DL103 ! Conical stylus can’t even extract what’s in the groove, so no wonder that you prefer digital.

What is fascinating me is the quality of music on vinyl media, it’s all there, all you need is to extract it with proper cartridge, tonearm, phono stage ... This can be too complicated, an endless quests, some people just gave up.
Raul
The OP answered that literally within 30 minutes of you asking previously.
Scroll back up and you will see it.

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digital is getting pretty good these days.



I think digital got beyond pretty good to excellent long ago.I had a Meridian 508.20 cd player in the 90's and onward, and it sounded beautiful and quite "analog."  Today I use a Benchmark DAC and it sounds fantastic too (even though I have a high end turntable system, digital sounds wonderful too).