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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.”
128x128mkgus
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Talking about 78's I just got given what looks like several hundred 78s! 
A person we know is moving out of his grandfather's house into a condo and in cleaning up and out he found these in a closet in the basement. He just wanted to get rid of them and I just happened to be in the line of fire:-) Just ordered an AT Vm670SP to play them.

I have no idea what happed to you antigrunge2. Maybe an older version of Pure Music, bad usb conversion. Lord knows. Michael Fremer uses the very same system and programming and is thrilled with it. The conversion the SPDIF and clocking are very important and the Alpha USB is special. My front end is entirely digital which may make a difference. In this day and age the only critical points are the USB conversion/clocking and the analog section of the DAC. Otherwise it is just numbers and numbers do not lie. 

As far as the Mac mini itself is concerned as long as you have a SSHD and a lot of memory there is nothing you can do to make it sound better other than up sampling which Pure Vinyl (contains Pure Music) does for you. But, the better sound is coming at the output of the DACs which can use better filters with the higher sampling rate. The DACs are on the other side of my preamp. Within the Mac Mini it is only numbers not sound. The Mini's DACs are not involved at all. The Alpha USB is important because it is clocking the data so the preamp can "understand" it. By all accounts it is superlative at this job. If I download a CD to the hard drive and sync the digital outputs of my CD player and the Mac Mini it is impossible to tell them apart. 
Other benefits are not only can you steam music but Movies, TV and You Tube. I can shop online while listening to music. I can listen to music samples on HD Tracks before buying, etc. All this at very significant savings over the Aurender. 
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,635 posts
 
The answer of course is yes. I don't know any of them personally.
sokogear
1,100 posts
 
@dekay - CD stands for compact disc
stevencason
97 posts
 
I agree with the other folks who point out cd is a dying breed.
To answer your question digital is more convenient but vinyl analog is far superior sonically
sokogear
1,100 posts
 
Acoustic Sounds just stoped selling hiRez DLs because of decreasing sales. that should tell you something. Vinyl sales have been increasing for 15 years. CDs have been declining for a few years. 

I was disappointed in CDs in the mid 80’s and early 90’s but had no choice since I couldn’t get new music on vinyl. I sold some records thinking CDs would be better with less noise. Since then I’ve paid more rebuying the vinyl. 
I have to admit that I never tried SACDs or hiRez DLs and would consider it if there was a lot of content I wanted that I couldn’t get on vinyl. I think our tastes are established in our late teens and twenties and that’s when a majority of my records were purchased. 
Vinyl is expensive and less convenient, so if you are looking from a practicality standpoint, I wouldn’t do it if I was starting over again. If you’re looking for a hobby I agree with most of the posters who have made investments in both that it depends on the title/format/release as far as what sounds better. In my limited exposure to 90’s CDs, I’ve never heard a CD come close to vinyl’s sound.

if you’re trying to be cool, vinyl does seem to be trendy these days for whatever reason, so if that’s your motivation-keeeping up with the Joneses, have at it. We welcome any new vinyl lovers to the club.
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