My conclusion: mid level $$ analog vs digital

When I used to have a vinyl setup I would occasionally compare the same album on vinyl with CD. Some of them sounded nearly identical with a moderate grade cartridge and phono stage. Some sounded very different. I think the mastering is a big deal, and perhaps the implementation of the RIAA curve in the phono stage and how well it mates up to the cartridge it’s being used with. I heard a lot more variation between cartridges and phono stages than I heard between dacs and transports. My favorite vinyl setup had a Sumiko oyster cartridge and a Carver phono stage with various settings. This produced an obviously colored sound that I found very pleasing. When I upgraded to a Bluepoint cartridge and Creek phono stage it sounded much more similar to CD to me. It was technically better but lost some flavor that I enjoyed. What’s the point if it sounds pretty much like the CD? Well, there’s the mastering differences. It would seem we’re all sensitive to different aspects of the sound. Other than the very earliest CD players I never heard anything specifically wrong with digital. And even then it was a lot less overall than I could always hear with analog. To my ears it was and still is a big step forward.

I acquired a digital 31 band equalizer while I still had the vinyl. Playing with that I was able to very closely match the sound of records and CDs of the same album that had sounded different before. The trick was usually to apply a gently sloping downward curve across the entire audio band to the CD playback.

One other thing I'll say - I LOVE turntables as mechanical gadgets that are beautiful to behold and operate. I'll never feel the same about solid state electronic devices. I also LOVE old film SLR cameras. I'll never feel the same about any digital camera. 

In building a number of systems over twenty years I've experienced so many variables in regard to vinyl vs. digital. In earlier years vinyl generally won out, digital exclusively cd, likely vast majority of these 1980-90's cd's remastered from analog masters, Analog to digital converters pretty bad in that era (D/A not much better). Somewhere around 2000 digital became better as A/D converters improved, so DAC was upgraded, digital closing in. During period 2005-2015 or so, vast majority of my resources used in upgrading digital, result was digital superiority. In reaction I upgrade vinyl, result vinyl superiority.

So, moving on to around 2015 and the discovery of streaming. Past five or six years almost exclusive upgrading and optimizing diy streaming setup. Result digital superiority again.

Based on my experience, optimizing streaming setup is NOT plug n play. Every single link in the chain is critical, the myth of digital simply being ones and zeros is a simplistic notion and detrimental to the digital experience.  My streaming setup is far more complex and somewhat more costly than analog setup, and I do have all the setup tools, cleaning apparatus, etc for analog. I have more than 2500 albums from 1950's-contemporary recordings. Point being I love all aspects of vinyl. I presume my analog could well challenge superiority of digital with expensive cartridge upgrade.

My point in all this is that digital vs analog superiority is SO subjective. Systems not optimized for both cannot be fairly compared. And yes, digital and analog do not sound the same, I've always heard vinyl superiority as what I'd describe as 'flow', a sense of calming that digital just doesn't quite do. Digital also has some inherent advantages. As for the 'flow' thing, latest digital closing in on this elusive quality. My present digital is not in the least fatiguing, I simply hear a sense of living, breathing performers in room. Visitors to my dedicated listening room happily listen for 5 hour plus sessions listening exclusively to steams and cd rips. Have a hard time getting rid of them at 3am.
Both digital and analog happily coexist in my listening room.

@sns - Well said. That has been my experience too. Right now my streaming setup is the best, but I could put more effort into my analog front end and maybe then it would be king of the roost. Back and forth it goes.

So Darko posted this a while back...
You may not agree, but I think it’s relevant to this discussion...

https://darko.audio/2019/02/darko-audio-podcast-14-vinyl/

Reruam

Thanks for link
1 hour long.      
Great listen 

I agree with intro turntable setups description 
They all sounded dull and lifeless to me , too

The knee for “ that vinyl magic” 
where you get the “ wow” moment is the big question ............

The tone audio guy said $10-20k , now days 

I had my wow moment on a setup, about 8 yrs ago
      acoustic solid Tt
      Triplaner arm
      Kisiki cart
      Esoteric phono 

So, I know what it sounds like 

But, The 3k in mine is , gosh darn , I get a good pile of the magic 

jeff