The character of analog and digital

There's a robust audio club here in the greater New Orleans area. Great group of guys. Fully analog; with some dipping their toes into digital. 

I've heard, maybe three dozen, vinyl systems. Two stand out and I'd love to transport those into one of my rooms. One is in Houston and the other just outside of New Orleans. If I had to choose, I'd take the Houston system over the local one but I'd be blessed to have either.

As someone who is one hundred percent streaming digital there is one commonality that stands out to me about the thinking and approach towards digital from those I know who are fundamentally analog audiophiles: 

That digital should be easy and deliver without much effort. 

I find this especially surprising given the effort and years it has taken them to get to where they are in terms of sound quality and performance from their analog systems.

The second standout point, in my experience, is spending pennies on the dollar for digital when their budgets for the analog side of their systems are up there, way up there.

Digital takes effort and expense and experience. When executed correctly the results are stellar.

in a perfect world, digital should be close to ’of a piece’ with analog. in other words, you ought to be able to switch back and forth from digital to analog/vinyl or analog/vinyl to digital and while the analog/vinyl is farther down the road to suspension of disbelief, the digital is getting there less only by degrees.

digital is never getting all the way there, but.....it does not have to. digital brings us access to much more music, and ease of use. and so we can live with ’of a piece’ synergy with our analog.

and this is where i think i am in my digital and analog. and i am as much invested in my analog and my digital as anyone here.

i do respect that some don’t agree and see the chasm between digital and analog as much greater; they need to work on their digital. or at least recognize what digital can do at the tip top of the digital food chain.

“As someone who is one hundred percent streaming digital there is one commonality that stands out to me about the thinking and approach towards digital from those I know who are fundamentally analog audiophiles:

That digital should be easy and deliver without much effort.

I find this especially surprising given the effort and years it has taken them to get to where they are in terms of sound quality and performance from their analog systems.

The second standout point, in my experience, is spending pennies on the dollar for digital when their budgets for the analog side of their systems are up there, way up there.

Digital takes effort and expense and experience. When executed correctly the results are stellar.”

+1, @david_ten

You nailed it 🖐️🎤 ⬇️

@millercarbon 

Welcome back!

Shouldn’t we compare recent releases of digital and vinyl rather than waxing lyrical about 70 year old recordings where the digital release is cheap and cheerful mastering because you otherwise can’t make money on it? Claiming outright superiority of vinyl givien fast progress on digital seems a bit outdated.

@lalitk 

+1, well said.