I agree that digital is better than vinyl and I've never understood the passions of the vinylheads other than perhaps nostalgia.
Digital is far better than vinyl
I have invested a decent sum of money into my digital setup, including a decent streamer (Innuos Zenith MK3), a very good dac (Denafrips Terminator 2), Eno filter, and good cabling. But after being told by many here that vinyl is vastly superior to digital, I thought let’s build an analog system and see what all the fuss is about. So this is what I did ...
I picked up an Audio Technica TT from Amazon for around $299. I then used one of the older integrated amps with a built-in phono, which I believe I paid around $500 a few years ago. And, finally, just to even out the playing field I bought the cheapest possible cables from alibaba. Since I didn’t have extra rack space to put the TT on, I got a couple of bricks and built a DIY platform for it.
So after listening to the analog setup for a few days, I can proclaim without a shadow of doubt that digital is far, far superior than vinyl on any given day, and twice a day on Sunday.
What has been your experience? And please, don’t mention your gear or any special. cartridges, isolation, etc. Not interested in your system details. I just want to make sure you guys understand that digital is far, far superior than vinyl.
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@curtdr the post was satire. |
@arafig While re-reading the OP post, I tend to think it may be satire but will answer as if it is not. This topic will always be controversial but I agree with others that this is not a fair apples to apples comparison. I also agree to get very good analog playback from a TT it will cost more than the equivalent digital system, hence it is not the best choice for the majority of music fans. Vinyl and a decent TT rig is definitely a subset of the audiophile community and cost is only one factor in the decision to go down this road. If one is going to be frugal, there are options, but the effort may not be worth the result. As far as your comparison, you have around $5k in the DAC and whatever receiver you have along with what is probably an inexpensive MM cartridge. To be a fair comparison I would look to spend the same amount of money on a TT setup from the same manufacture that includes the TT, tonearm, and cartridge. Offerings from Rega, Clearaudio, and Linn can be found in this price range. Will these be better? Perhaps, but the Denafrips Terminator 2 is a discrete R2R design which is very cool - so it could still be better overall and more convenient. Now, as much as I like my Linn LP12, I find I use my streamer more often. What I like about vinyl on the LP12 is albums do sound very good but are limited by the physical limitations on vinyl itself. Surface noise, pops and ticks can really detract from whatt otherwise sounds great. Ironically, my LP12 also uses the Urika-II preamp which converts to 24/196 digital inside the plinth and stays that way to the Linn Selekt DSM converts it back to analog. This works very well and has advantages. Everyone that has heard it agrees it sounds wonderful but it took a great deal of effort to get there. At the end of the day, if one is not will to put at least a modest amount of cash into a TT rig, and spend time to get it set up correctly, they are better off with less expensive and decent streamer/DAC setup with a good set of speakers.They will be happier campers.
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It really doesn’t matter. Use the format that works best for you. Both will give you very high fidelity playback. That said: It is nearly the year 2023. And the fact that vinyl is still part of the playback debate is amazing. It has survived all challengers to date. But vinyl requires more effort from the listener. You must know how to set up a turntable and properly match and align a cartridge...at the very least. |
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