Digital as good or better than YOUR analog?

I really wish I could say that my modest JVC 1050 cd player with Bel Canto DAC 1.1 offers the aliveness and reproduces string instruments in the same manner as the Oracle/SME/Benz Micro but it really doesn't. If I want to really hear a piano, I have to listen to the tt, the digital set-up misses on even the best recordings to my ears. It does other things that are enjoyable but to me is decidely less real sounding even though I listen to it 70% of the time. On the other hand it is much less important now than it was 10 years ago when digital was truly much less enjoyable than it currently is.

Now I have to wait for Dan Wright's work on my digital belt diven "creature on steroids". He promised to WOW! me in every way...

I just don't know how close it will get to my current analog setup--which is sounding real close to digital!

Yesterday I talked to Robert Schult (RSA) and he knew all along what needed to be done to attain what I wanted. He just let me find out on my own and later on corroborate my findings. Far out!

My digital is a lot better than my analog (I think). I'm just going by memory, though, as I haven't listened to my turntable in about 3 years. It's an old Sota Sapphire with a methacrylate mat, Alphason arm and a fairly good Grado cartridge. I remember it sounding pretty good, but without the spooky realism of my current AN front end. I've listened to a couple of good TT's lately (a VPI and a WTT), but I've heard nothing that makes me want to go back to messing around with VTA settings and LP cleaning machines.

I'd rather just choose from among the tens of thousands of new music releases coming out every year on CD, drop the disc into the transport, let the music wash over me and stop worrying about the question.

Albertporter,

I have SONY DVP-S9000ES too, and I bought it to be replacement of my old Arcam ALPHA6, unfortunately even SACD layer of hybrid disk sounds disappointing in comparison to CD layer on Arcam of the some disk. My old CDP beats it EASLY. Even my nonaudiophile wife can hear it. Did blind test to her to be sure. She always preferred Arcam to SONY, ALWAYS!
Two years ago (before buying SONY) I have been comparing my Arcam to $2000 CD player (some Audio Research cdp), and there was nothing to compare, 2k$ cdp was just much better.
I have compared it latter to CAL+Theta (3k$ combo) even worse, Arcam sounded miserable. So I have good performing $400 player nothing more. So please tell me what 10k$ CDP's your SONY has beaten?
I really would like to know what companies are selling trash worth $200 for big backs ???

Because my unmoded 9000ES is harsh, uninvolving, utterly unmusical does not stand ground to my Arcam...
I bought it after reading 200 raved review on Audioreview (how it was supposed to beat 5k$ cdp's), and have been deeply disappointed since. Using it as DVD player only now. Just could not listen to it. And do not believe in everything people are saying anymore.

I do not claim the Sony 9000 is a perfect CD player, only that for $700.00 it was pretty darned good and was preferred in listening tests over more expensive players by members of my audio group.

That doesn't mean there may not be a $400.00 player that beats the more expensive players AND my Sony.

The analog was so superior to the visitors 20K digital rig and the Sony, that the differences seemed silly.

Of course all this is relative to what you want and where you want to be. I would practically kill to have digital that would allow me to sell my analog. Imagine picking up CD's at Target when I wanted new music :^)

If you wish to email me privately I will tell you three players that were voted as inferior to the Sony. There were as many as seven people voting in some of these test, at least three are current Audiogon members. I can ask for permission to hand out their email address so you may contact them and confirm if you wish.

Frankly, unless the 10K or 20K player destroys the Sony, (I and my friends believe the opposite is true), I am not willing to part with the cash. Especially when after all is said and done, the 20K player gets killed by my Walker. For me, it's about getting the highest possible performance but not paying for more than I receive.