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An interesting Digital vs. Analog experience

On Friday I visited my local hi fi store where Garth Leer of Musical Surroundings was showing off the new Clear Audio Master Innovation turntable and Jim White of Aesthetix was on hand with a lot of his gear. The speakers were Focal Stella with dual JL Audio Gothom subs. Obviously, the point of the event was the turntable, but I'll have to admit that when the music was temporarily switched from the turntable to a labtop both my friend and I thought the digital sounded better.

I've heard A/B comparisons in the store before using identical recordings and in that case preferred the vinyl, but this time with the recordings being different I would have left with a very different impression.

I mentioned it to Jim White (I didn't discuss it with Garth Leer since because I didn't want to rain on his parade) and his comment was that the system was tailored for analog so I'd probably really enjoy a system that was intended for digital. I think the computer was using an Aesthetix CD player for the DAC.

It was the first time in a long time that I was blown away with the sound of a system in that room, it made my system sound very humble (as it is in comparison) in a way that I had not heard before. It was the first time that I've heard Aesthetix amplification making the Focal Utopia's shine.

I guess what I'm saying is that both vinyl and digital can be amazing, but the difference in convienience is astounding.

I could see myself owning a pair of Stella speakers, but I don't think I have enough organs to sell to pay the bill. I doubt my wife would be willing to chip in...
mceljo
kbarkamian
647 posts
 
Thanks for sharing that with us, Mceljo.

I've always wondered why people get so hell bent on the vinyl vs digital topic. Why settle for one when you can have both. With the money some people have thrown around, I'm sure they could afford top quality examples of both if they weren't too stubborn to give the other a fair shot.

Now I'm in too deep too...
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Mceljo, Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
Your experience is not surprising to me . I've preferred digital every time I've done a same price comparison . Not saying it's better just saying what I preferred .
To answer Kbarkamian's question , if I liked vinyl I would have a turntable too , just not my cup of tea anymore .
onemug
784 posts
 
"I've always wondered why people get so hell bent on the vinyl vs digital topic"

"I don`t understand the often zealous reaction this topic seems to generate"

I agree. Some people treat this hobby like it's a religion and we know how religious wars go. It's just music.

There is a "happily" married couple that live in our neighborhhood. He is an Aethiest and she's Jewish. I think that's a little farther apart than digital/analog or: tube/transistor...planar/point source...xxxx/yyyy... whatever.

I think the more secure you are in your own beliefs the easier it is to let others have their own.

I now return you to you regularly scheduled arguments. :-)
aberyclark
1,357 posts
 
I think digital, when done right, is fantastic. When the Beatles remasters came out many knocked the sound compared to classic vinyl. I'm sure there is some merit. But, as an audio fan for over 30 + years, I never thought Beatles recordings were "audiophile" to begin with. Maybe Abbey Road. I always thought the Elvis recordings of early 60's and the Columbia,Capital recordings of the day (and earlier) blew The Beatles sound quality away. Now, the sound the Beatles were able to produce is part of the charm. Beatles albums recorded in the clean sounding walls of Capitols LA studio may not have the same bite as the version we all know. That said, Not all vinyl recordings back in the day were well recorded. I think digital shows the weaknesses much more over vinyl. Just my opinion...I don't pretend to be an audio expert
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