Why is Sony Digital sound more like vinyl?

Well Dave, I have to disagree as well.

I have had two very well respected Sony ES (two channel) cd players. I will certainly agree that both are extremely well built (probably the best built, mass produced, cd players I have ever seen) and both have good sound. Sony certainly knows how to built a good transport, I will give them that.

However, that being said, neither one comes close to what my Resolution Audio Opus 21 can do. The Opus comes so much closer to analog than either Sony unit ever did. (Closer, but still not quite there though.) There is a life to the music that the Sony's never really had. Also, there is now air around the instruments that the Sony's could not provide.

To paraphrase the NRA slogan: You can have my Opus 21, when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers!

Audioengr: If you have a Philips 963 or even a 763 that sounds "clinical", that thing is MEGA-broken compared to the Philips units i've worked with. These pieces are anything BUT "clinical" sounding. If you told me it sounded round, soft and syrupy, i would believe it in an instant, but "clinical"??? NO WAY. Put the Ayre Acoustics disc on repeat for at least 72 hours at minimum and then come back with your thoughts. A full week or even two of this disc on repeat works wonders. Sean
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All great responses, thanks gang...by the way I am using a HarmTech AC-11 power cord on it...BIGGG DIFFERENCE!!! Synergy is sometimes everything...and built in bias!!

OK I have owned the SCD-1, SCD-777ES and XA777ES Sony players. I would not say they were anywhere near analog sounding to my ears. They were good but not analog sounding. My old Meridian 508.24 was slightly better sounding on redbook CDs. Cords made some improvement and cones, points, bearings air bladders all changed the sound on the Sonys also.

Going to a tubed DAC really upgraded the sound of the Sony players, then they became more analog. The difference could be noticed in piano recordings where the piano was not as hard sounding, and became more real sounding. There was more depth to the soundstage which was the key to making the recordings sound more real and live.

Happy Listening.

I must take issue with this wrap on the Sony ES digital gear sounding hard or lacking in depth or spread ...I have been an audiophile for over 30 years and grew up on vinyl. Perhaps the confusion comes in when most people started buying digital gear that added or deleted certain harmonic aspects of the sound to compensate for redbooks shortcomings on most high-end gear..which mostly tune out true musicality anyway! I have no stock in Sony...I've blown over 40K on front ends in 3 years..what I'm saying is that in a musical system the Sony stuff let's all the music flow in a more natural way without hype and without rolling anything off thereby in effect improving on some of the drawbacks of vinyl while getting the essentials of the music correct!