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
glupson
7,842 posts
 
I was just mentioning more likely reason why thrift-stores have CDs. Their distribution is another topic.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
They’ve always had CDs. No mystery about that. These days I suspect death might explain why some CDs pop up at thrift stores.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
kahlenz,

It was me who mentioned Exile On Main St. I think I have same CD as you do. My record is from 1982. It sounds "perfect" to the point that I digitalized it so it is available for portable devices. My friend agrees. However, listening carefully, record is missing tones, even dynamics (hello loudness wars) and is objectively probably inferior. I like it more. It is likely due to it being what my mind tells me it is supposed to be.
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glupson
7,842 posts
 
elizabeth,

It is already slowly creeping up. The hippest of the hipsters in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) are already in for CDs and not LPs. The only correction your post may need is that their parents listened to CDs, not LPs.

Why did hipster burn his tongue? He drank coffee before it was cool. (as told by an 11-year-old girl)
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