classical music source

Jetrexpro,

I agree that a lot of jazz sounds particularly good on vinyl. As for classical sound quality, both digital and analogue sources can sound very good, with digital having and advantage when it comes to noise (a MUCH bigger issue with classical than any other type of music because of the extremes of dynamics). Where digital has a huge advantage is with availability of content. I only have a few records that have not be reissued in digital form, and many hundreds of CDs that were never issued as vinyl recordings. Moreover, it is easier to find out-of-print CDs than it is to find most old vinyl, and finding vinyl in good condition adds to the difficulty in collecting in this medium.

I don't subscribe to any streaming services, but, I have been pleasantly surprised by the substantial classical catalogues of some of these services; this is a good way to browse for new music.

The knocks on vinyl are true, not many classical works have an obligato for ticks and pops.

That said, a good record on a well-set up TT, something as lowly as a Project Carbon Debut with an acrylic platter, Project speedbox, Ortofon blue replacement stylus for the red or A Nagoka MP-2-300 will sound more realistic than any CD or download at any price.

Here Here to great sounding classical vinyl when you can find it...My friend
brought over a Moblie Fidelity vinyl recording of Richard Strauss Also Sprach
Zarathustra and we were both stunned at how good it sounded. I don't think I
have a CD that sounds that good.

digital for sure, hi-res downloads when possible. The overwhelming majority of classical hires downloads (that I know of) are true hi-res; natively recorded in 24/96 or better PCM, natively recorded in DSD (like the excellent Channel Classics label) or hi-res PCM or DSD transfers from older analog masters. To me, these sound clearly better than CD's (given equivalent recording and mastering quality). I gave up on LP's a few years ago (right about the time many people were discovering or "re-discovering" them).

If one is talking about a kind of shootout for ultimate sound quality, then yes, the very best records that I have do indeed sound better than most, if not all of my digital classical music. But, these extraordinary records are relatively few in number in my collection. Also, a lot of the vinyl reissues of great sounding recordings are of warhorses that I really don't listen to that much. Many of the non-reissued records that sound good are quite difficult to find (e.g., records from the East German label NOVA). From a practical standpoint, aside from audio showcase recordings, digital recordings dominate the universe of decent sounding recordings that can be reasonably procured.