I think you are going to get a lot of upset comments because we have a more fundamental problem:
Two digital sources can sound quite different, in so much that we cannot agree on common grounds for their performance, while the typical measurements will be so close that they statistically should not affect what we are hearing.
Also, analog has a similar issue where two setups can sound so wildly different you think they come from different planets.
So, depending on what kind of analog and digital folks have, they are going to give you diametrically opposite accounts.
What I have noticed is that at high levels they (A &D sources) start to sound closer and closer, and the defining feature will be how the recording was recorded: if it was recorded on a tape, it will sound analogue on BOTH digital and vinyl.
When it was recorded in digital, it was sound exactly the same on BOTH digital and vinyl sources. For example, on my TT, the LPs recorded in digital format sound exactly as if I was listening to very high level digital source.
That's what I am experiencing.
The other side of confusion is that measurement-based tests relate to a single example, not to the entirety of the format which will give a completely bad impression. Classic example of that is the LPs dynamic range, which is an absolute garbage piece of intel as the difference in dynamic range reproducible by a low and high level TTs is astronomical to say the least.
Also, the measurmenets for analog and digital sources cannot be correlated to each other (A vs D), as the brain interprets analog noise VERY differently from digital noise, so the numbers that make sense to an oscilloscope or a microphone are nearly meaningless when trying to establish what the brain thinks of it.
On another note... let's say digital is Karate and analog is Kung Fu. (Let's stick to movie-style martial arts for now...)
Q: How they measure, which is better?
A: The one who is the master..... regardless the art.
Chuck Norris will slay the clueless beginner Kung Fu-pups with his mere shadow, and Bruce Lee will drop the lot of the white belt karate kids with a single shriek....
Varietas delectat.... & no words nor theories can make up for personal experience.
Enjoy your audio journey! ;
