TOTALLY CONFUSED about analog

FROM ONE OF THE TNT GUYS:

My front end consists of a Wadia CD player, Sota Star-SapphireTT, ET2.5 Air Bearing Arm, Grado Reference cartridge ( low output), Audio Research phono preamp. I purchased most everything second hand but believe that
the new cost of the analogue/ digital rigs to be comparable in the US$5000 range. (do I get points off for not having a DAC?) :-)

The Wadia came first (it took me six years or so to collect my set up even with used prices.) and had not had a TT in many years. I was ecstatic about the sound coming from the CD through a tube amp and electrostatic speakers and thought this must be heaven. Wanting to be transported away by the music, I put on Schwarzkopf singing the Four
Last Songs of Strauss from the Angel/EMI release. It was sweet, smooth and silky with nothing standing out or distracting evident from stereo but in the fourth verse of "Im Abendrot" the climax and resolution of the piece " O spacious, tranquil peace, so profound in the gloaming."
hits a brief major note and has in the past sent shivers through me and at times brought a tear to my eye. Much to my dismay and a blow to my pride in my new setup there was none of that. It was beautiful for sure but distant.

How could this not beat the pants off my bottom of the line BIC TT, cheapo Sure cartridge and Lafyette receiver. Perhaps because it was distant memories.

Eventually my analogue setup came around and I pulled out the original Schwarzkopf. As you can probably guess, at this point all of the involvement was there in the original LP that was lacking from the CD. I played both versions and found the difference in involvement to be eye opening and to this day is my favorite CD/LP comparison for friends
who don't know LPs.

I've thought of getting a DAC to see if that would help level the field but am waiting for something in that class to be found used. Does anyone have a suggestion? The CD has a recording chain of AAD. I have a few other CD/LP comparisons on hand that give similar results and music has
moved me on CD but just more so and more frequently on LP.

Now to really stir up trouble. The 1960 DGG pressing of the Beethoven 9 Symphonies with Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic blows the pants off, dynamically speaking, the CD reissue. In the slow movement of the 7th. I've never heard such pianissimo and such forte. It is a perception
though, I've not measured it.

The Wadia is great and it gets used often, but if I want to be moved, LP is the thing.

Regards,
Michael

psychic, have yer buddy mikey try a modded art di/o. at $200-$350, depending on who does the mods, he shouldn't have to wait for something used... may not get him all the way there, but it will likely get him a lot closer... ;~)

doug s.

Thanks everybody. This thread has been most interesting. I just sat back and watched. I still don't understand why Pbb bashed analog in this thread. What are the moderators for anyway? So that we don't use obscene langage?

Psychic, you definitely have a peculiar approach to all this. I understand why you defend the DJ turntable. You don't want to worry about upgrades, tweaks and just keep focused on the music.

Sedond, are you 'obsessed' with that Art di/o? You seem to be a closet analog type to me.

I take that getting any properly matched analog rig will bring pleasure. It's now a matter of finding the best deal for me.

Ken

Is the analogue community a gated community? I was convinced of the reasonableness of my various blurbs. I guess Bishopwill put it less in pamphlet form than I did, and I thank him for his good sense. I can see it now: two sold out digital-types playing good cop/bad cop with the "analogue community". Not to leave everyone convinced of my intellectual or hearing deficiencies I have two things to add in closing on analogue/vinyl: 1st) I still believe that in some critical aspect the best reproduction of music I have heard was from direct-to-disc analogue/vinyl LP. Why? The initial attack of the music, its leading edge was the closest to actual live music; 2nd) as pointed out by the Bishop, there is liquidity (or to put it another way, a fine texture) in analogue/vinyl, but it is a fleeting experience, to me at least, gone as soon as the impulse noise breaks the spell. At the risk of repeating myself, more power to those who can hear through it. I still believe that one is better off upgrading within one format, than splitting the available cash between two formats. By the way music, whether reproduced in one format or the other, when it's just right, can still put me in a sort of trance, it casts a spell and takes me away, but that has to do more with the performance and the performers and not the mechanics of its reproduction. Being moved by music does not require much in the way of reading, and certainly no self-improvement course. Elvis Costello said something to the effect that talking about music is like dancing about architecture. I have been moved to tears by music playing on my kitchen radio and have felt singularly unmoved by audiophlie recordings of inferior performances on high res sytems. Let's get back to music qua music. Regards one and all, whatever your avocation.

ken,

don't let psychic fool ya - dint he mention that he just ordered a trough to further tweek his 1200? ;~)

ya, i *am* a bit obsessed w/the di/o - after 20 years of digital, i can *finally* enjoy the music, much in the same way i enjoy my analog rig. and, no, i don't have to worry much about upgrading & tweeking the analog rig. well, no more than psychic, anyway. o-l came out w/a new-n-improved rb250 modded arm that i may have to get, replacing my present o-l arm. well, it's silver, & it'll *look* nicer! :>)

doug s.