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
So now we just sponsor/underwrite an artist’s vinyl ... and yes the vinyl master is NOT the same as the CD or download release.

fun

enjoy the music :-)))
Most of Springsteen - Nebraska was done on a cassette TEAC portastudio.... give it a listen, it has some jump factor spots...
If the Darts are a gaming PC my amps are mini Darth Vader garden statues... but who cares....
"Most of Springsteen - Nebraska was done on a cassette TEAC portastudio.... give it a listen, it has some jump factor spots..."
I recently bought Nebraska, ahem, LP. 2014 issue. I will not claim it is realistic, or not, but it is eerily good. First side better than the second one, for whatever reason. I would recommend it to anyone. Way more pleasant to listen to than an old CD or relatively recently remastered CD. I am not saying vinyl is better format, I am just saying this particular one is more pleasing.