Vinyl - One Word - WOW!!

@mambacfa , I can record records in 24/192 and snap back and forth between the actual vinyl and the digital copy. Nobody can hear a difference. If there is a difference in mastering between the digital and analog copies that will make a difference and it can go either way. Gains have to matched carefully or the louder version will sound better. If your digital performance is always behind the vinyl then you have work to do on your digital side. It should not be!

I spent a few hours today comparing streaming with vinyl.

Vinyl wins easy. The sense of space, air, and speakers disappearing was much better with vinyl.  One record of electronic music by Klaus Schulze sound as good steaming it. But comparing things like Blue Notes records it’s not even close. The sound stage is much more open and reaches out into the room with vinyl. In comparison streaming sounds dry, dead, with all the instruments smaller and stuck way behind the speakers 

What's a vinyl?!

Some experience no difference between the sound of vinyl and digital, while others say that vinyl is more open, lively and realistic. Interesting to hear of such opposite experiences. I wish I heard no difference, because a vinyl setup could easily cost 5x what a comparable quality digital setup costs. You could spend $5K to $10K and get a VERY nice digital setup, where you could easily spend that on a phono cartridge, or a tonearm, or a phono preamp... and you still don't have a turntable!