Vinyl / High qual analog tape / High-res digital -- One of these is not like the other


One common theme I read on forums here and elsewhere is the view by many that there is a pecking order in quality:

Top - High Quality Analog TapeNext - VinylBottom - Digital

I will go out on a limb and say that most, probably approaching almost all those making the claim have never heard a really good analog tape machine and high resolution digital side by side, and have certainly never heard what comes out the other end when it goes to vinyl, i.e. heard the tape/file that went to the cutter, then compared that to the resultant record?

High quality analog tape and high quality digital sound very similar. Add a bit of hiss (noise) to digital, and it would be very difficult to tell which is which. It is not digital, especially high resolution digital that is the outlier, it is vinyl. It is different from the other two.  Perhaps if more people actually experienced this, they would have a different approach to analog/vinyl?

This post has nothing to do with personal taste. If you prefer vinyl, then stick with it and enjoy it. There are reasons why the analog processing that occurs in the vinyl "process" can result in a sound that pleases someone. However, knowledge is good, and if you are set in your ways, you may be preventing the next leap.
roberttdid
Music reproduction is science and objectively verifiable, music is art a question of individual tastes. I think some get the two confused. 
You are right....

But a system can or cannot separate vinyl and digital in 2 clearly separate category.... Most system cannot, mine cannot, mikelavigne system can it seems.... When we look at it we can and may trust him for the audible difference....I trust him....I dont think a deaf man will ever invest so much money in music reproduction....
I chased my tail the same way
but I got it wrong
listening to somebody else origin event
comparing masters of different formats where you were not there yields personal flavor selection not an accurate capture let alone recreation of the event...
it all starts w microphone selection.... now where did I put that ultra FAT  ribbon ???
But I can only compare digital A2D then storage then D2A against 15 ips half track. Level matching is difficult because as Mike said the energy density is different and we KNOW the human ear/ brain like louder ( especially the short run ) granted I only have a modified Revox and a Wadia 17 but to me, my ears my system the virtues are mixed. I thought about a lathe, and sanity... returned briefly... ha