Digital with same soundstage as analog

Digital done correctly is superior to analog in every way and streaming is definitely NOT the right way to do it. I have a friend with a modest, but effective system who listened mostly by streaming. On his system we compared a 24/96 digital file to streaming of several albums synced so we could AB and there was no comparison. Streaming is like trying to talk with a mouth stuffed with cotton balls. I have to assume they are doing this on purpose to prevent people from recording studio quality files. A middle of the road turntable is superior to streaming. I encourage people who stream to buy a 24/96 file of a favorite album and compare it to a streamed version. 

Once you are in the digital domain there are many things you can do to improve the performance of your system, gains that can not be made otherwise and there is little if any downside. Nobody has yet been able to reliably identify a record from it's 24/96 copy. Just like a three headed tape deck I can play back a recording as it is happening switching back and forth between the actual record and its digital copy. With digital processing you can turn a lackluster system into a great performer and  a great performer into the incredible zone. 

I am an old record collector. My idea of a great time is thumbing through records at the store. I still by records and will never stop, but a good digital file is superior and digital processing makes both even better.

@mijostyn 

Well, it depends on your components. “ Digital done correctly is superior to analog in every way“… it depends on your investment level. At the low end and very high end vinyl tends to out shine digital. This will change. So, I kind of agree that digital done right at certain investment levels is superior to analog. At my investment level $45K for each leg the sound quality is the same… although there is much more variability with vinyl… I think because of the variation in pressing (early in the short life of a master or late).
 

…”streaming is definitely NOT the right way to do it”… There is no fundamental difference between the potential sound quality from a CD, stored files and streaming. It is just  packaging differences in the playback equipment.  The cd player has a transport, streamer, and DAC. Streaming simply has the files remotely located. It depends on your equipment as to which if any sound better.
 

On my system red book CDs of the same mastering sound exactly the same as streamed, or local file.  High resolution streaming sound better than red book resolution via any source. It is equipment dependent.

As digital continues to advance it is getting the edge on vinyl over more investment levels… just as the disadvantages of vinyl, CD, and SACD are becoming overwhelming. 

There was 34 Years separating Vinyl as a mainstream medium and CD becoming the fledgling medium in the Marketplace.

It is now approx' 42 Years since Vinyl was to claimed to have become obsolete / superseded.

It seems extremely strange that 42 Years in, that there are pockets of Audio Enthusiasts who are forming the view the digital medium, is now able to present as a competitor capabilities that questions the use of the Vinyl LP as the medium for storing and replaying recorded data.   

As stated in an earlier post:

 "I don't concern myself with such things anymore." 

"Is the CD Source better?, Is the Vinyl Source better? "

Any prejudice I once carried for CD is now reconciled. 

OP I have a modest setup, but the analog sounds good to me. Question, can I get the same soundstage with digital by adding a DAC or Streamer?

I have a modded Oppo BDP-95 (no external dac) and I think it is the world class in soundstage and sound-images. Alex/WTA

@ghdprentice You are sort of right. It is just numbers. There should be absolutely no difference. The same numbers should sound the same played back through the same DAC, but they do not. Something is happening somewhere down the streaming line to corrupt those numbers. I have run this test many times on many systems demonstrating to people why streaming is a problem for quality listening. The result is always the same, a blank look and a four letter word. Streaming is fine for background music and shopping for new music.

As for the other issues, you are correct in vinyl being extraordinarily variable. Both vinyl and digital are subject to the quality of the recording, but where digital really shines is performance enhancing features such as EQ, crossovers, room control, group delay correction, etc. In order to take advantage of these capabilities you have to digitize everything including your turntable. I can take any system and I do mean any system and make it sound better with digital signal processing. I can also show you graphically where the problems in any system lie. The purists have a hard time buying into this and I always get an arguement. Even the very best analog systems will have noticeable issues that become obvious once you clean them up. Every time I do the corrected vs uncorrected AB demonstration I get the same blank look and four letter word.