Help my analog sound as good as my streaming

1+ mikelavigne. Best advice so far. There are some people who do not have a long history with vinyl who are just not going to like the inconvenience and the ticks and pops. Until you find yourself overwhelmed by an analog set up stick with your streaming which you are obviously impressed with. Analog costs a lot more money and for some it is just not worth it. Even many of the older audiophiles have offloaded their analog set up and listen only to digital sources. There are many ways to love and listen to music. There is no one right way.

millercarbon7,779 posts02-23-2021 10:04pmThe weak link is you are using digital as your reference. While it is possible to make your analog rig sound as bad as streaming (sorry Mike, but your level streaming and his, come on! At your level everything even streaming sounds good!), why? Don’t put legs on a snake. Learn to recognize and appreciate what your analog rig is doing. Because I assure you, it already sounds leagues better than streaming.

I have read some silly things on here, but this one really takes the cake. It is pretty difficult to combing arrogance and ignorance with lack of self awareness of totally flawed logic all in one paragraph, but you have succeeding with great aplomb! Bravo MC, Bravo!

To the op.  I mean this in a technical way, how old are you?  Most people who did not grow up with vinyl are not that enamored with it, even when presented with very good vinyl. Why would one be enamored with poor separation, higher SNR, frequency response anomalies, etc?  ... though most of the music enjoyment comes down to the mastering.  Back in the "old" day, i.e. 80's/even 90's, engineers, typically stuck in their ways, had not really learned to master for digital. There was some good stuff, but a lot of bad stuff too.  That pretty much changed as people learned the processes, even learning to "flaw" digital to give it color, that while not accurate, was pleasant.


I will state it, and many (not all, probably not even most), will disagree, but there is nothing that vinyl can do that digital cannot. I.e. vinyl can be thought of as a subset of what is possible with high end digital whether it be frequency response, SNR, transient response, and any number of the terms that people make up and assign to vinyl or analog that don't actually exist (except in their minds) and are mainly a product of lack of knowledge of signal processing.


That said, I listen to both, though usually my vinyl listening is post digitization these days.  I find the coloration of vinyl often presents a more pleasing musical experience, and that would mainly be in the rock/pop categories. If I want to listen to more nuanced music such as orchestral and jazz, or acoustic, where I want to enjoy the finest details, warts and all, then digital is my go to.

I think your goal is flawed. I would set a goal of a good vinyl system that allows you to expand access to recording that may be pleasing, no matter the source. Don't expect to be blown away by vinyl, expect to be blown away by certain recording on vinyl that for you are enjoyable.

Get a better cartridge. I am a DENON DL103r fan. I think that would work well on that table with that arm. A Higher mass tone arm is best. Also it’s a MC cart so might need a step up transformer depending on phono preamp used.
Like Mike said, getting vinyl right is not easy and can be costly. Unless you already have a large record library to play I would stick with streaming. Or if you must attempt to get the most out of vinyl, loosen up that bank account and have at it. But I’d steer clear of current record releases. Many are digitally mastered the same as what’s streamed then put on vinyl for a nice product to buy and hold that may also be warped, have surface noise, off center grooves and all the rest that makes records special. Then play the record only once and convert it back to digital for safe keeping and easy access from anywhere.  Or just stream the same darn thing to start with.  
I’m only half joking......

A great vinyl rig costs more than the equivalent streaming rig. The gear and the media. It is worth chasing but it really is that simple. Demo some good analog gear if you can and figure out how much you are willing to spend and what you like. Then go after it. I like my streaming rig but I love my vinyl rig. I also spent a good deal more to end up with a vinyl rig that sounds better than my humble streaming rig (bluesound node 2i & benchmark dac 2 HGC).

Also, you would do well to ignore the blowhards that don't even have a streaming rig claiming knowledge. 

Good luck.

The ratio of funds needed to be spent on analog to match digital quality is significant (at least 2x or more). A $1K streaming DAC will easily outclass a $1K (TT, cartridge, phono combo). Disregard any talk about vinyl being better than digital, there are simply too many variables in the reproduction chain for that statement to merit any credibility. And then you get down to source material which is the most important factor:

Here are my best practices:

a) Generally listen to music in whatever format it was recorded (streaming/CD for digitally recorded albums and vinyl/tape for analog recordings).
b) Get your records from boutique audiophile labels / pressing plants (Analog Productions, Speakers Corner, Mofi, Pure Pleasure, Music Matters, Craft, OJC, ORG). In many instances, records from these labels match or exceed original pressings and you won’t have to spend your days praying and hoping that your soon to arrive expensive original pressing doesn’t sound like/look like worn out muddled dog shit.
c) Most vinyl records pressed today are mediocre. Learn about verifying analog chain of the record (if a record is cut from digital source, save your money and stream instead). Respect yourself and absolutely avoid European labels that make domain free pressings (Waxtime, DOL etc.)
d) My experience is that the best sounding records are the ones that were recorded and pressed in the 1980s right before CDs took over.
e) Discog reviews are your friend
f) Above all, mastering is key; try to familiarize yourself with the names of the best mastering engineers and studios. A well mastered dollar bin CD will run circles around a minty vinyl record with mediocre mastering.
Records are cool, but they are a lot of work to get right, and unless you are ready to obsess over a bunch of details, and patiently work through a raft of frustrations, you might be better off simply investing in your digital front end and enjoying the piece of mind that comes with that. I might sound a bit down on vinyl but it is still my preferred format (because when everything comes together it is a sublime experience).