@rossb,
I agree with your first point. I take it as a given that subjecting a signal to yet another process, especially in the home environment, would necessarily degrade it tp some extent. It may sound superficially unchanged, but in the low level and spatial details that we, audiophiles, crave it will change IMO.
I do disagree with your second point. HW of VPI measures the success of his TTs by how close their sound comes to master tapes. Any difference has to be called distortion, whether by having the tape altered so that it is ready for the cutting process, or by all the cutting plating and duplication implicit in the disk production process.
Consider the difference between an analog master tape and the first disk to come out of production (and they deteriorate as production continues) played on an excellent set-up. Consider also the difference between that master tape and a digital copy made by the best available professional ADC equipment and played back on an excellent set-up. I's only a surmise but I suspect the digital copy would be "virtually" indistinguishable from the original. The vinyl would be fairly easy to distinguish; I'm not saying which would be "better."
I have a pretty good analog set-up and am building a good digital one. Lots of learning here, especially about what comes before the DAC. I like them both though it is hard to argue with the ease of dealing with the digital. I just press an icon on my phone to hear anything in my digital collection. It may be strange, compared to what I have written, but I tend to judge changes in my digital set-up to my analog sound.--specially spatial things. Of course, some digital sounds DIGITAL. And some analog sounds lousy. But some digital stereo sounds as good as anything. At the moment I am thinking of new Shostakovich/Nelsons recordings. But some old old, originally analog, recordings (RCA, Decca for ex.) sound just great and no worse than the original disks that I have--some really better.
So at the moment I do not prefer one medium over the other (convenience notwithstanding). Just my $.02.
I agree with your first point. I take it as a given that subjecting a signal to yet another process, especially in the home environment, would necessarily degrade it tp some extent. It may sound superficially unchanged, but in the low level and spatial details that we, audiophiles, crave it will change IMO.
I do disagree with your second point. HW of VPI measures the success of his TTs by how close their sound comes to master tapes. Any difference has to be called distortion, whether by having the tape altered so that it is ready for the cutting process, or by all the cutting plating and duplication implicit in the disk production process.
Consider the difference between an analog master tape and the first disk to come out of production (and they deteriorate as production continues) played on an excellent set-up. Consider also the difference between that master tape and a digital copy made by the best available professional ADC equipment and played back on an excellent set-up. I's only a surmise but I suspect the digital copy would be "virtually" indistinguishable from the original. The vinyl would be fairly easy to distinguish; I'm not saying which would be "better."
I have a pretty good analog set-up and am building a good digital one. Lots of learning here, especially about what comes before the DAC. I like them both though it is hard to argue with the ease of dealing with the digital. I just press an icon on my phone to hear anything in my digital collection. It may be strange, compared to what I have written, but I tend to judge changes in my digital set-up to my analog sound.--specially spatial things. Of course, some digital sounds DIGITAL. And some analog sounds lousy. But some digital stereo sounds as good as anything. At the moment I am thinking of new Shostakovich/Nelsons recordings. But some old old, originally analog, recordings (RCA, Decca for ex.) sound just great and no worse than the original disks that I have--some really better.
So at the moment I do not prefer one medium over the other (convenience notwithstanding). Just my $.02.