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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
sns
3,209 posts
 
Very few could give a definitive answer,  one would need to equalize vinyl and digital setups. And can that equalization be proven? Ultimately it would be something like Michael Fremer level analog vs. MSB, Totaldac, etc.

And then you have the issue of provenance, lps mastered from digital, digital mastered from analog.

I have no preference as to sound quality, both have their sound, I enjoy both. It all comes down to listening preference for me, stream or rips over NAS for 90% of my listening. I can no longer often bear listening to an entire cd or lp, great music over an entire cd or lp is a rare thing.
speakerbox's avatar
speakerbox
14 posts
 
For my ears there is and harsh edge to CDs, and digital in general, that makes them non-listenable for me.  I get listening fatigue before I get through one CD.  In process of selling off my CD collection.  No digitally mastered vinyl in my collection either.  Long live vinyl.
fstary's avatar
fstary
18 posts
 
What is your take on HD Radio? In St. Louis, WFUN classical on HD Radio seems to sound better than the same station's 107.3 MHz FM playing the same material. WFUN classical has a pretty big variation in sound quality depending on the recording, from average to amazing. The highs on some violin recordings are to my ears amazing. I am listening on two pairs of Magneplanar MG 1.7i speakers with two Velodyne subs. The subs work off each of the two channels independently, not mono as is usually done. Frank
kostik700015
3 posts
 
I think that LP make sense in case of old records mostly, because contemporary performers makes their records using digital stuff first. After it, special for naïve gentleman, they issue LP that based on digital sources, moreover, sometimes using same mastering that they used before for CD release.
PS: sorry for my English, hope its readable.  
unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
979 posts
 
This question will not change anybody’s mind.
For the record:

- I have both CD and vinyl formats. - I have comparable quality playback hardware for each

- while vinyl requires signal interventions that offend the kind of purists who rush to digital as a consequence, to my ears vinyl sounds superior and is more engaging. This is in part because digital also has a signal intervention: it divides the audio spectrum into bits and the sampling rate settled on by the recording industry for reasons of profit is not sufficient to capture all the data that analog does.

- a friend who is also an audiophile has a digital system. His system is more costly than mine. In some ways it captures more detail, but the experience to my ears is lifeless. The sound was flat, as if a picture painted onto a wall. My system is dynamic, with sound like sculpture in space.
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