This debate always sends us down a rabbit hole with no bottom in sight. Here's what I've learned. A recording's engineering affects the sound quality more than the format or carrier. CDs have the potential to sound better because of their wider dynamic range. For those annoyed by clicks and pops, CDs are the way to go. A few years ago, I purchased John Coltrane's classic Blue Train album in CD and vinyl (the CD came with the vinyl). I've heard both but prefer the CD because I believe the resolution is slightly better, though only slightly. Also, with the CD, I don't have to turn the volume knob as high to get the same loudness level. I've still got plenty of vinyl and won't discard them for the CD unless they get too worn. I did with Paul McCartney's Ram album (released May 1971 - yes, I'm a rabid Beatles fan) and also with Joan Baez' Any Day album (released 1968). I listen mostly to classical and opera. Pop recordings of the last few decades, because of the compression to increase the volume, sound deplorable to my ears. The CD version of Ram has great resolution, but the compression and the resulting loudness can make my ears bleed. Digital remastering is not always a good thing.
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.”
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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@mijostyn, my experience is 180 degrees different from yours. I had a Mach2mini running Puremusic on a very minimalist setup for operating system and lots of vibration controlling features. When switching to Innuos Zenith Mk3 the difference in resolution, noise floor and dynamics was nothing short of revelatory. DAC is Antelope Zodiac Platinum with Audiophile 10m clock. Size of HD should not affect sound quality. I use an Intona Isolator for further improvement in SQ. Again, compared to the Mini it‘s a whole other ball game. Seems like there are no universal truths in this game. |
Audio2design, I had the same question. Try this link for an explanation of what it is: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=nqeoe1pndoi7qgea8i8ja6cfr5&topic=87262.0 Mike |
On the digital side, I’ve ripped all my CD’s and SACD’s to uncompressed FLAC or DSF files which are stored on an SSD ATA hard drive installed in a Roon Nucleus+ and served to a Matrix X-Sabre Pro MQA DAC. The sound is pretty amazing. On the analog side, I have a modded Rega RP6 with a Hana ML moving coil cartridge and a Manley Chinook tube phono stage. The rest of the system consists of a BAT VK30 tube line stage preamp and a pair of PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium tube monoblock amps driving Magnepan 1.7i speakers. As amazing as the digital side sounds, and as much as I hate record noise, analog is more compelling and involving. I have far more media in digital format but if I have a choice, and quality vinyl, I will choose to listen to vinyl every time. |
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