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Does Anyone Think CD is Better Than Vinyl/Analog?

I am curious to know if anyone thinks the CD format (and I suppose that could include digital altogether) sounds better than vinyl and other analog formats. Who here has gone really far down both paths and can make a valid comparison? So far, I have only gone very far down the CD path and I just keep getting blown away by what the medium is capable of! I haven’t hit a wall yet. It is extremely dependent on proper setup, synergy and source material. Once you start getting those things right, the equipment gets out of the way and it can sound more fantastic than you can imagine! It’s led me to start developing a philosophy that goes something like this: Digital IS “perfect sound forever”; it’s what we do to the signal between the surface of the CD and the speaker cone that compromises it.” 
So I suppose what I’m asking for is stories from people who have explored both mediums in depth and came to the conclusion that CD has the most potential (or vice versa - that’s helpful too). And I don’t simply mean you’ve spent a lot of money on a CD player. I mean you’ve tinkered and tweaked and done actual “research in the lab,” and came back with a deep understanding of the medium and can share those experiences with others.

In my experience, the three most important things to get right are to find a good CD player (and good rarely means most expensive in my experience) and then give it clean power. In my case, I have modified my CD player to run off battery power with DC-DC regulators. The last thing that must be done right is the preamp. It’s the difference between “sounds pretty good” and “sounds dynamic and realistic.”
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antigrunge2
1,418 posts
 
Foremost to mention that nowadays every recording is digital. Secondly, unless they are cut directly to vinyl, LP’s went through further analogue conversion adding hum and hiss, not to even to speak about the same limiters on dynamics that supposedly affect CDs.

The real problem with digital is actually not digital but analogue: added EMI/RFI interference and imperfect clocking adversely affect the reconversion to analogue. A good digital system has to therefore spend inordinate amounts on accurate clocking and signal clean-up.

On a direct comparison between the two it is ultimately the individual care taken in the final mastering that wins the day.

Between Vinyl (Zyx Universe on Dynavector DV507Mk2 to Zyx Artisan) and Digital (Innuos Zenith Mk3, Intona Isolator to Antelope Zodiac Platinum with Audiophile Rubidium 10M clock) I can demonstrate superiority of either depending on the source material chosen(in each case comparing Vinyl to the streamed version of the same recording)

Finally, after a lot of tinkering streaming is starting to beat CD transfers to the Zenith SDD. But there again, it was a long way of trial and error to get to that outcome.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
I would just like to add that you do not need to spend $50K on a vinyl playback system to get SOTA performance. $30K will do the job nicely. The only problem with this other than most people still can't afford it is that a SOTA digital file playback system costs $4K. They are trying to juice it with dedicated Streamers and rippers but nothing beats a Mac Mini and a big hard drive. People with limited resources can get excellent sound from very inexpensive digital equipment. Why spend so much more on a vinyl rig? The extra money would be better spent on upgrading loudspeakers. Those of us over 55 grew up with vinyl and have an emotional attachment to it. While there are young people getting into vinyl
it is a very small minority compared to the young people who only listen to their phones and computers. I think vinyl took off again because those over 55 have discharged their children an now have extra money to burn and they want to relive their younger day playing vinyl. Once we are gone what happens? Will vinyl survive in the end? I won't be around to find out.
Will manual transmissions survive? I say no. Not enough cars around to learn on.
Sous vide then Torch!!
antigrunge2
1,418 posts
 
@mijostyn,

with all due respect: running a digital system off a noisy computer isn‘t anywhere near SOTA. Actually to get to digital SOTA takes equally as much effort and money as vinyl and $4k isn‘t even close.

As you say, vinyl is what clutches are on cars. Unfortunately digital ‘automatics’ are largely still at the sloshy Borg Warner 3-gears stage of the early ‘60’s.
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

oregonpapa

4,334 posts

12-28-2020 11:41am

Last night I listened to a Steve Hoffman transfer of "The Best of Ray Charles" on a DCC compact disc. Ray Charles was in the room. I could see down his throat. Then I switched over to vinyl and put on the Impex Records reissue of Duke Ellington’s "Indigos." The Duke Ellington Orchestra was in the room and the solo instruments just hung there between the speakers in all of their tonally correct glory. Then, I switched back to CDs and put on Yusef Lateef’s "Live at Pepe’s." I swear I was sitting at a table at Pepe’s amid the audience. So, which format was better last night? Who cares?? It’s the music, the performance, and the emotional impact that really counts.

Frank

this is the first and last word on the topic as far as i am concerned

if we know what we are doing with analog or digital... we get what we came here for...
rjshatter's avatar
rjshatter
4 posts
 
Turntables are the only source components that don’t use an amplifier to reproduce music.
If you put your ear near the tonearm or cartridge while playing a record you can hear the music. Can’t do that with tape or digital. In Stereophile this month, one of the writers made a point that a gramaphone recording( Had greater distortions) came across more believable than electronically reproduced music.

Could it be this lack of amps be a reason tt sound more like live music?
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