Your vinyl rig may be better than digital or vice versa. That will be a major factor regarding which sounds better.
And/or the digitally mastered recording delivered on vinyl could be superior to the CD version or vice versa.
One way the vinyl could be superior is in dynamic range. CD format specifies the maximum dynamic range which is pretty high but a limit nonetheless. Vinyl does not impose a limit, so it is possible a really good digital master rendered to vinyl could have better dynamics.
Big if though.
Not likely with most actual digital recordings on lp.
Many vinyl rigs might not be able to track a recording with
very large dynamics accurately resulting in mistracking and distortion rather than better sound.
Many famous early Telarc digital vinyl recordings were made this way to demonstrate the potential of digital. Many turntables of teh day could not play them properly without mistracking.
Once the novelty of digital eased a bit, this approach became less common and digital recordings on vinyl often became more mundane, with digital limitations abounding and few or no benefits.
So it all depends.
In general, on a high performing CD playback rig, I would expect most good modern CD recordings to sound better than most good modern vinyl recording equivalents played on a good vinyl rig. It's usually the older high quality analog recordings that reach the highest echelons of sound on vinyl, not modern vinyl, most of which is digitally mastered these days (just like CDs). Plus, many buyers report a lot of quality control issues with modern vinyl recordings, which also tend to be more expensive. Vinyl recordings are a niche market today and corners appear to be cut often in order to bring a product to market at a cost some might be willing to pay. THe golden age of vinyl during which quality was high generally and cost generally low due to mass marketing is long gone.
So practically, buy old, used vinyl in good condition for reasonable cost for the best recordings there. Otherwise, you are better off optimizing the digital playback in your system and seeking out new or used CDs as needed for newer music.
And/or the digitally mastered recording delivered on vinyl could be superior to the CD version or vice versa.
One way the vinyl could be superior is in dynamic range. CD format specifies the maximum dynamic range which is pretty high but a limit nonetheless. Vinyl does not impose a limit, so it is possible a really good digital master rendered to vinyl could have better dynamics.
Big if though.
Not likely with most actual digital recordings on lp.
Many vinyl rigs might not be able to track a recording with
very large dynamics accurately resulting in mistracking and distortion rather than better sound.
Many famous early Telarc digital vinyl recordings were made this way to demonstrate the potential of digital. Many turntables of teh day could not play them properly without mistracking.
Once the novelty of digital eased a bit, this approach became less common and digital recordings on vinyl often became more mundane, with digital limitations abounding and few or no benefits.
So it all depends.
In general, on a high performing CD playback rig, I would expect most good modern CD recordings to sound better than most good modern vinyl recording equivalents played on a good vinyl rig. It's usually the older high quality analog recordings that reach the highest echelons of sound on vinyl, not modern vinyl, most of which is digitally mastered these days (just like CDs). Plus, many buyers report a lot of quality control issues with modern vinyl recordings, which also tend to be more expensive. Vinyl recordings are a niche market today and corners appear to be cut often in order to bring a product to market at a cost some might be willing to pay. THe golden age of vinyl during which quality was high generally and cost generally low due to mass marketing is long gone.
So practically, buy old, used vinyl in good condition for reasonable cost for the best recordings there. Otherwise, you are better off optimizing the digital playback in your system and seeking out new or used CDs as needed for newer music.