Parity

rvpiano, I feel your pain, as I am going through the same process.  I am getting the Sota motor/Eclipse package and a better cartridge for my tt.  That might surpass the digital side for a while; if not I'll think about a different tonearm.

If these changes top the digital sound, then how about a new streamer or dac?  Where does it end?

From my point of view I think it's a little harder/more expensive to get the analog side up to par with streaming, but I feel some magic with a good vinyl pressing.

abnerjack,

Yes, there is some “magic” in a good vinyl pressing.
I’m listening to one right now. Nothing like it!

It isn’t that records generally sound bad, it’s that digital sounds usually so damn good.

@rvpiano: No offense intended, but this is what happens when you make sound quality your first priority. I've been there myself, but now make my next musical selection based on what I'm hungering for musically. If it is also in good sound, wonderful, that's a bonus.

Being an audiophile has its benefits and pleasures, but is also in a way a curse. Remember when you loved music you heard, long before you became obsessed with sound quality? If it truly is---as we all claim---about the music, then we have to act like it is ;-) .

bdp24,

How absolutely right you are!  
I was half expecting someone to post this in response to my writing. 
It’s so easy to take you’re eye off the ball and fall into a slump (I’m watching baseball right now.). 
Thanks for the correction. Lord knows I’ve proselytized about this myself before.

@bdp24 : Well said. Spot on! But…. It is what it is.

@rvpiano : I am not surprised with your findings. From my (failed) experience with vinyl a few years back, I realized pretty quick I had to spend a lot more money on my vinyl gig to match the performance of my digital rig. Money I don’t possess. So I abandoned my vinyl project completely. Now I only have a digital system, that’s where I focused. And I don’t regret it one bit. Now… if one is “digital is just zeroes and ones” type, then analog will most certainly sound better than the lowly digital “system” put together based on that concept