Rega P25, would it sound better than my CDP?

If you have an extensive LP collection I would say go for it, but you might do better with a Nottingham Analogue deck at that price.

If you have no LPs I'd say save your money and get a better CD player.

The difference in sound quality between CD and LP is significantly less than the variance in recording and mastering quality IMO.

(Owner of Rega P3 with Goldring 1042 and Monarchy Audio 22A DAC ... both about $1000 in their day).

Okay, let me ask you this way: In your opinions what are the sound differences between your vinyl versus digital set ups?

What does DIGITAL offer in your system that vinyl doesn't?

What does VINYL offer in your system that digital doesn't?

They both must have their strengths and weaknesses, objectively speaking what are they?

DIGITAL - Completely silent backgrounds all the time, more crisp at the frequency extremes.

ANALOG - more natural/organic tonality, more inner resolution

dynamics are a wash

No one would complain about surface noise on 95% of my records - essentially silent. If you play clean records on a well setup vinyl front end, surface noise is basicly a non-issue. Some cartridge minimize surface noise better than others. The denon 103 series are excellent in this way.

I personally would rather listen to a well setup Rega 25 than ANY cdp including meitner, dcs, etc. When I listen to vinyl I'm able to get into "the zone" where I don't pay attention to the playback and just enjoy the music. With digital, it doesn't usually happen.

If you have a collection spend the money, if not upgrade the cdp/cdp power cord/cdp IC. You won't regret it.

My LP12 matches my Wadia 301 in PRaT, but not in any other catagory. Still I'm going to upgrade my TT. Why you ask? Because I have about 700 near mint/mint lps that I've picked up at local garage sales for between free and $1.00 a pop. This is a great way to expand my music collection. At $5.00 a cd used, that would be $3,500. I payed $1,500 for my TT setup. So to me it makes sense.

Digital offers: lower noise floor as a rule, convenience, ability to swap music with friends, no worry about tweaking turntable/cartridge parameters, and access to a vast range of music that will NEVER be available on vinyl.

Vinyl offers: the ability to inexpensively sample a vast array of older music, much of which will never be available on cd, indulgence in a ritual that helps you to remember music is more than background noise in our multi-tasking lives, and that effortless, palpable, organic, flowing musicality you have with vinyl.

If I have the option, I usually prefer vinyl when listening to rock and jazz. The limited dynamic range obscures the more limited signal/noise ratio of vinyl. Yes, there is the occasional exceptional classical lp that is eerily quiet, but no matter how well I dust & vacuum most lp's, there are ticks & pops that intrude on quiet sections. I also find it's easier to immerse yourself in long musical pieces when you aren't getting up every twenty minutes to change sides. On many older rock & jazz recordings, the mastering to cd's is inferior. Many recordings haven't been remastered after engineers began figuring out how to do digital right. Some remasters still are substandard to their original vinyl incarnations, as I was reminded last night listening to Van Halen's first album. Each medium's strenths and weaknesses are on display to varying degrees on every recording.