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
prof
3,535 posts
 
 Welcome to the club chcumo63!

Careful about vinyl - it seems to have a particularly addicting quality and the ability to drain bank accounts ;-)   (Especially if you are in to new vinyl, good quality or rare).
prof
3,535 posts
 

I have never wanted to be one of those "vinyl is better than digital, 'cause digital sux!" converts to vinyl.

But...my goodness vinyl is seductive!

Since I've been listening to so much vinyl it's skewed my perception of digital a little bit.  Digital still sounds tremendous on my system and I love it.  But I was listening to a nicely recorded collection of old synth music streaming (full CD quality) on my system.  As great as it sounded, I couldn't help but think "it seems to be missing something...I'm not quite getting what I get from vinyl."  The imaging was dense, the instruments appeared in the air, but it didn't quite have the next level of immediate texture and aliveness I've been used to.  Wondering if it was in my head I yet again threw on some vinyl to compare, an old Human League LP from the 80's, similar synth era as the one I was listening to on digital.

Well...there it was!  The synth parts on the vinyl just seemed to break out of the recorded "canned" barrier and just peirce the air in front of me, occupying the same air as the room.  There was that reach out and touch it texture.  The sound seemed to jump out of, escape the speakers better.

Pretty wild.  I'm hooked.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
folkfreak,

"Reminds me of the old Linn Analog/Digital issue of tracks from Ossian -- one side recorded analog and the other digital..."
The deal would be in finding exactly the same recording, recorded simultaneously in both formats, and then have analog on vinyl and digital on CD or whatever other digital format possible. This Linn record on one side invites "recorded digital and pressed on vinyl, no good" comments. However, it would still be interesting to hear if there is any difference. Let us know.
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
@glupson 

The deal would be in finding exactly the same recording, recorded simultaneously in both formats, and then have analog on vinyl and digital on CD or whatever other digital format possible
This is exactly what Yarlung offer. The same session recorded in analog available on LP or R2R tape, and digitally available on CD or hires dowload




glupson
7,842 posts
 
folkfreak,

Thanks. I somehow misunderstood it was all on same record. Makes sense now.
More to discover