The quest

The dynamics from digital can exceed that possible from vinyl. With vinyl, the mass of the moving parts in the cartridge and the grooves are the ultimate limitation.

The other analog qualities of Vinyl, like vocal smoothness can be duplicated with digital, but it requires very low jitter and low noise from the components. These components don't come cheap, but they are available.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Listening to Digital is like having a shower with millions of little ice cubes instead of fresh water (vinyl)

Yes, hold on to your vinyl as digital will never end in trying to empty your pocket book.

It's long been my belief that those of us old enough to have been raised with tubes as the only means of powering not only stereos but even TVs have a romantic link (for lack of a better word) to it and to the sound of vinyl due to it's coexistence. They went hand in hand.

That bar for what sounds good has been passed down and improved and tweaked to the point where vinyl is the standard but digital has come a long way in a shorter time and continues to improve apace. I can still detect when a record is being played in another room at an audio salon due to it's identifiable nature. Incredibly pleasant, natural and wonderful to behold when done right.

For me it's not a matter of settling for less with digital but learning anew to appreciate what it can do and the potential it has to get even better. At times it can sing to me as well as vinyl. But that's me. :-)

All the best,
Nonoise