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
Post removed 
barnettk
410 posts
 
Not a very fair fight IMO. Better cart and phono stage + proper setup will make all the difference. Not saying CDs don’t sound good, don’t want to go down that fat hole but I would not expect a CD to “crush” a quality vinyl recording played on a properly setup turntable with quality components (cart and phono stage).
sejodiren's avatar
sejodiren
192 posts
 
Tired of this thread clogging my email with useless back and forth banter.....buhbye....:-D
roxy1927
135 posts
 
I'm afraid a musical performance in Milan would not be worthy of what you would find in a recording from decades ago. The live ambience is nice but the artistry is lost to the ages and not coming back.

Now baroque opera in Paris might be another thing as I have witnessed at BAM.
edgewear
543 posts
 
@chrisoshea,

With this 'logic' one should probably not buy used records either. One never known how it has been handled, how often it was played and with what stylus, does one? Glad it isn't my logic, or else I wouldn't have any records.......

It has been said before, but bears repeating: what cartridges do you think those vintage records from the '50's and'60's were played with? We are debating on this forum whether sapphire is an acceptable cantilever material, but back in the day most people used a sapphire stylus! When the sound deteriorated it was worn and you simply flipped the stylus over to wear out the opposite one........

Yet most of these records have survived such crude devices, except in obvious cases of mishandling which are easy enough to see. The best of these are still considered the benchmark for sonic quality and many of them are worth more to collectors than the MC cartridges discussed here.

So why should you be so 'sensitive' about the condition of previously owned modern cartridges with a sophisticated diamond stylus? 


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