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
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 

When I was in the Air Force, back in the good old days of propellers; once we were taking off overloaded, approaching the "go no go line", and about 10 feet off the ground;  it was time to come down, throw on the brakes, and reverse props. (especially with trees near the end of the runway)

You got to know when to hold, and when to fold; I think it's time for the OP to cut his losses short.

tablejockey
3,920 posts
 
"Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD"

Everytime I revisit this site and see this  thread title, it reminds me of some of the headlines I see on the Yahoo home page.

Todays younger "journalists" seem to use crush,slay and break, quite a bit.

Anyhow, the OP  may be better off with his CD rig.

As mentioned earlier, unless  the OP is willing to update the phonostage, the VPI isn't performing near its potential. The Denon has been a popular cart for ages. I haven't personally tried one on my Classic. Finally,  a reissue of a 90's era album isn't going to make jaws drop compared to the CD.

Put a pre 80's LP on a properly setup Classic, thru a competent phonostage....now you will hear what the fuss is all about.




glupson
7,842 posts
 
"I own thousands of LP’s...…...Analog needs not only money, a lot of learning patience..."
I see that many of you guys have a lots of records and cannot but wonder if you ever thought of switching to digital because of space constraints. Even CDs take less space, not to mention hard drives. Although I am not on as sophisticated analog level as any of you, I avoid buying records because of storage issues and consider digital superior on that level. I know, it is not about the sound but it does play a role when choosing the medium. I do buy records, I am awaiting for ten of them to arrive these days, but it is when they are really unavoidable for some reason. Admittedly, for all ten of these the reason is expected sound quality. And then I digitize them and put them away. Blasphemy, I know.
rjsalvi's avatar
rjsalvi
9 posts
 
Elizabeth said: "Just dawned on me that what this entire thread is saying is WE ALL LISTEN TO THE EQUIPMENT, ALL THE TIME, and the ’music’ is just an excuse to use the equipment."
LOL! Yup. Gets even worse when you design equipment. Can you say, OCD? I knew you could. :-)
bmontani
193 posts
 
Good CD player, mediocre analog set up.  Digital has come a long way and in some respects is a much better medium than analog but in other ways not quite as good.  I am surprised that the analog had better bass weight because that is one area that a digital medium excels.  That said, I am sure you are correct, a good CD player today sounds better than an ok analog set up with an ok preamp that has a mediocre phono stage.
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