What CDP gets really close to vinyl?

audiofeil:

my being a reviewer has nothing to do with your comment about changing your position.

you and i are like oil and water.

i suspect you would disagree with anything i said, even if you held to the position yourself. you tend to be contentious, ornery and not a very nice person.

the issue of being a reviewer is merely a smokescreen for your psychological problems. see a shrink. you'll live longer.

Muralman1.
+1 on that.

My ears tell me that digital can be satisfactory on certain types of music where there is less musical information and dynamic swings. Even then when compared to a great vinyl set-up it misses the mark on the air surounding instruments as noted above. This is a really big deal for me in absolute context of listening to music where there is more of a believability factor.

I keep on hearing how digital is getting better and suppose it is but I haven't been willing to spend the dough to get something that will be obsolete or bettered at half the price a few years later. You don't get that with vinyl. Money spent today on a carefully put together set-up will hold its own down the road. I can't say I've heard enough digital front ends to make any kind of judgement on where the current SOTA is but I can say I highly doubt any digital front end regardless of price will compete with a top notch vinyl front end.

The litmus test in comparing should be a great recording of an orchestra..... i.e. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Fritz Reiner "Scherezade" originally released by RCA, subsequently by Chesky and Classic records... with all the dynamic shadings and complex harmonic tones. Someone please direct me to a digital device that can convey the air and natural tone of massed strings that one hears live and is only approached by vinyl? I haven't heard it to this day but it would be nice to know it such a digital product exists.

"Someone please direct me to a digital device that can convey the air and natural tone of massed strings that one hears live and is only approached by vinyl?"

I agree that is one of the toughest things to get really well done with Redbook CD digital.

The reference standard for this I've heard is DCS Puccini on a very high end tube system running Magico Mini's.

An all mbl system running mbl 111s in a large showroom was also up there.

My rig does it well enough now to hold my interest. Getting to that while not mucking up the rest was not easy!

"The reference standard for this I've heard is DCS Puccini on a very high end tube system running Magico Mini's"

Well Mapman, thats what I was afraid of. But even so if it gets close, real close, it is really nice to know that maybe someday, somehow there will be a trickle down effect to the common audiophile and music lover. I do have faith that this will happen, maybe not in SACD/CD format but digital streaming downloads...who knows what tomorrow will bring. You just gotta believe!