Pros and Cons of "Staying with" Analog and Vinyl


After having various turntables over the last 40 years, I am seriously considering getting out of analog. The "vinylists" argue that analog playback sounds more natural, musical, and provides more of an emotional response. I have experienced this feeling several times while listening to my modest vinyl collection, and tend to agree....until I begin hearing pops, clicks, surface noise. I keep my vinyl generally clean and protected

However, after listening to the 40th anniversay edition of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" I am more convinced that analog is just not worth the time, money and, maintenance. The dynamics on new Aqualung are superb and there seems to be much more detail to what I remember of the Mobile Fidelity remastered recording

I have a modest analog set-up Rega P3-24 with their upgraded PS and the Dynavector 10X5 MC. I was on the verge of upgrading to the new Rega RP-6 which includes a newly design PS, and a choice of color plinths. Even with a generous trade-in value offered by the dealer, I would still be putting in about $1300 + which would get me into the Dynavector DV 20MKII ( above their 10X5.)

I personally don't see the value regardless of the sonic qualitative edge of analog. Maybe, the money could be spent elsewhere or not at all. BTW, I am not getting into computer audio, and am STILL not convinced that a BASIC DAC will bring me closer to analog sound quality. Members have recommended Peachtree's DACIT, and even the supposedly new and improved Musical Fidelity V-DAC II. I have a Rega Apollo player. A great sounding player, but it has its flaws.

Therefore, I would like to hear the pros and cons of staying with analog....or just dumping it. Thanks
sunnyjim
Others have covered most of the questions you have to decide. What music do you have in your record collection that you value and can't hear otherwise? If it's not much, consider transferring it to digital before bailing.

If, OTOH, it's substantial, you should investigate WHY the surface noise is so significant. There are plenty of threads here on the topic, including a very recent one.

Despite Rok2id's scepticism, many on this forum and elsewhere listen to vinyl with little or no problems with surface noise. I'm one of them. I'm not going to argue this point from theory. I merely cite my experience while not in any way maintaining that it's valid for anyone but me. I can't tell Rok2id what to like and he can't tell me... and neither of us can tell you!

I have a reasonably good system for both digital and vinyl: a $6K universal disc player (including CD, DVD-A, SACD and Blu-ray) and a $20K+ vinyl front end. We have ~1500 digital discs and ~4000 LP's and enjoy them all. The advantage of digital discs is their convenience and of course they're inherently quiet. It takes me 20+ minutes/side to clean an LP but once I do it's almost invariably quiet enough so that we can enjoy the the natively higher resolution of vinyl (higher than blu-ray, just as film is still higher res than blu-ray for PQ). Home digital media have not yet matched the resolution of analog sources, whether in sound or in video.

From the above you might deduce that very expensive equipment and much work is necessary to do vinyl well. For me that has proved to be true. That will factor into your decision as it does for anyone. For myself, my LP collection contains many hundreds of releases that will never be available on any other medium. Abandoning those would be musically unthinkable. Degrading them by converting to (today's) digital would be audibly intolerable. But YMMV surely applies here, as everyone's collection, musical tastes and sonic priorities differ.

Human hearing was developed over many econs to ensure survival. So we could hear the lion among all the other noises on the plains. This was few years before LPs came out.

Now, I got your point, it's just that it's getting to be a little much, this attempt to prove the so-called superiority of analog. Leave elvolution out of it.
I know the golden eared types can spend endless hours worried about minutia, ...
Why describe what you hear and prefer in emotionally neutral terms while describing what others hear and prefer as "minutia" [sic] of concern only to "golden eared types"? You made many valid points, only to undermine them with a descent into argumentum ad hominem. I see no reason to disrespect anyone else's hearing, musical tastes or sonic priorities.
Thesoundhouse is right on the money! I've had the same experiences, almost exactly. What I finally discovered is that when I'm craving listening to music, it's never digital.... because it's just doesn't sound like a performance, no matter how many thousands and 10s of thousands of dollars I spend. If you are focusing on the noise you aren't focusing on the music anyways...
It's not really about "superiority" for me. My Arcam CD player presents a clean sound. It is also very flat as far as depth goes. I simply enjoy the sound of my records and what they bring to the party more. And, as a 58 year old, when i say "been there, done that" I'm speaking from experience.