Vinyl sounds better (shots fired)

@rauliruegas

Yes, it’s possible that some systems may be optimal for either vinyl or digital formats. However, it can’t be the whole story. I find my preference for vinyl is not system dependent. It’s there with both budget and high end set ups and all points in between.

I prefer vinyl on a Linn Exakt system that many all analogue audiophiles would turn their noses up at because it is digital throughout much of the chain with DSP. You can’t get much more optimised for digital than that, yet vinyl still sounds great.

I suspect that it is the differences in mastering that are the most significant factor.

Of course, it’s only a preference, albeit it quite a big one. If others favour streaming or CDs, that’s fine by me. As always, it’s a matter of balancing the pros and cons - there are no absolutes here.

I suspect that it is the differences in mastering that are the most significant factor.

@newton_john One difference is that many LPs have less compression than the digital release. This is because there’s no expectation of the LP being played in a car, whereas there is with the digital release. This isn’t universal, but many producers will send an uncompressed tape or source file to the LP mastering operation on this account if they are quality conscious. When I was running my LP mastering operation we always would ask the producer if such was available.

@atmasphere 

Thank you. It’s good to hear that confirmed by someone with personal experience. Your contributions here are highly valued. 

Listening to vinyl is 100x the cost, labor, space and inconvenience of digital. And the consensus among the intelligentsia of the audiophile community is that the "vinyl zealots" are delusional people with more money than brains, who believe the propaganda after drinking the analogue Kool Aid. Seems like a lot of heat generating from a "debate" that's more like a potluck supper with the Hatfields and the McCoys. If the Luddites (like me) enjoy the listening experience that analogue provides, what skin is it off your rather prominent proboscis? 

@mambacfa

Brilliant satire. I especially liked “the intelligentsia of the audiophile community” - a contradiction in terms if ever I heard one.

If the geniuses in the music industry could master CDs and digital files properly, Luddites like us wouldn’t need to take refuge in vinyl.