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
moonglum, thanks for the link. I’ll pass. 😃 If memory serves bits is related to resolution, not SRN. 


That link with the charts confirms precisely what I posted 12-03-2018 9:44 AM, but nobody agreed with me. That confirms another one of my suspicions; we have a lot of "geezers" on this forum who are guilty of wishful thinking, and they express their wishful thinking thoughts.
Post removed 
orpheus10,

"That link with the charts confirms precisely what I posted 12-03-2018 9:44 AM, but nobody agreed with me."
For the record, I could not agree with you more. It is only that I have not found the way to get into your account and sign your post. I agree with it to that extent.