2. analog
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When does analog compete with digital?

With vinyl becoming all the rage, many believe (perhaps mistakenly) that a budget of $1K will allow them to bring their analog front end up to par with their digital. I would like a reasoned assessment of this issue.

How much time, money, and expertise do you think is necessary before one can seriously claim that their analog front end can compete with their digital? What characteristics, if any, are simply incommensurable between these two mediums? Let's use my system as an example.

Personally, I tried to build an analog front-end that focused on texture/warmth (as opposed to dynamics), but I still feel as though something is missing. Trouble is, I can't quite put my finger on it. I'd be grateful for comments/suggestions (system in sig)
jferreir
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Good post by Cerrot. I'd offer a teensy semi-correction. IME one can get where he described with *some* inexpensive cartridges, provided everything else in the vinyl front end is up to snuff.

For example, I own a $125 MM. If I put it in my main system ($6K table, $5K arm, $8K phono stage) it performs pretty much as Cerrot described and delivers a good portion of what great vinyl replay has to offer.

As he noted, however, this would not happen if I cheaped out on any of the other three components, not even if I used my costly LOMC. To hear what vinyl can do, table, arm and phono stage must be very good and in these categories good doesn't come cheap.

Agree completely that the large majority of people, even many audiophiles, have never heard a high end vinyl setup. Such a visitor's reaction is as predictable as it is enjoyable: eyes pop, jaws drop, they're typically overwhelmed by the volume of musical information they're hearing for the first time. Records they thought they new well (from the CD) become a completely new experience.

Unfortunately, when they see the work and cost required to achieve this most realize it's just not for them. They're happy to buy me a bottle of wine from time to time in order to hear it again though. ;-)
phaelon
1,053 posts
 
"I think one of the things that was missed here is why so many (non-audiophiles, mostly) people believe CD's sound better than vinyl"

Perhaps because so many turntable systems are less than optimally set up; and frequently much less than, IMO.
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
I think they are less than optimally set up because they take a bit of effort, knowledge, tools and investment (accurate scale, strobe) and the average user doesn't understand what's involved with acquiring the best sound from a vinyl rig, or how to get there. The smarter ones have their dealr set them up in thier homes but you still need the ongoing sped checking, VTF, VTA, erc., throughout the TT experience. Very few are set and forget--CD players usually are. You buy a cd player, plug it in and that's pretty much it. A vinyl rig is much more complicated than that. Many TT's are offered as a one box solution, buy it, open it up,hook it up and they lead you to beieve you're good to go, but you probaly aren't and need to read a book, internet article, one of Mickey's DVD's. A CD payer out of the box usually sounds better than a TT out of the box for these very reasons. You won't buy a $10,000 TT and not understand this, but you may buy a $1,000 TT and have no concept of the work involved to set it up properly. I do believe that a $1,000 TT set up properly can outperform a more expensive TT not set up properly. The set up issue is fairly removed from CD players. IC's and PC's and isolation on a CD player are no where as much of an impact as leveling, speed, etc., on a TT.
thuchan
1,009 posts
 
there are TTs in the market for under 300 Dollars which are better than any CD player without good/expensive DAC. But this is not an attempt to convice you buying this 300 Dollar item...
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Jferreir,

I suggest you move the left speaker out of the corner and both speakers away from refractive edges of the desk. It will cost you nothing and will make a huge improvement in imaging and sound.
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