Can digital compete in sound quality with vinyl?

[1KW]

[QUOTE=Mouse;943443]Can an audiophile digital system compete in sound quality with an audiophile vinyl system? Short answer YES

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by W9TR

Whatever happened to the OP? Haven’t heard from Mouse for awhile.

I still haven't bought my turntable. I keep bouncing around all over the country, I always tell myself I'll buy a nice turntable when I find a city to stick around in for good. After a few years I'm still moving all over.

I'm back looking at turntables again. I'm considering dr feikert's blackird, MT10, or something from VPI like a loaded scout or a basic avenger. After several listening examples, vinyl sounds more lifelike yet more relaxing to the ear at the same time. The problem with demoing turntables, is that the stores never have two turntables on one rig, I go from room to room, or store to store.

I've done comparisons on boulder, ARC, Mcintosh, and moon.

[blacsno]

How bout this for a answer....... In 2003 I spent 3K+ ish on updating my LP12. It took the Mcintosh MDA1000 at 8K in 2005 to get approx 95% of the capability of that LP12 mod!! Here is the funny part NO MATTER much more money I put into the LP12. The MDA1000 will always lag behind by the SAME percent!!! The human ear is engineered as an ANALOG device. Digital by its own process definition is an approximation. I still continue to smile at the thought that some people think digital means equal to analog.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by blacsno

How bout this for a answer....... In 2003 I spent 3K+ ish on updating my LP12. It took the Mcintosh MDA1000 at 8K in 2005 to get approx 95% of the capability of that LP12 mod!! Here is the funny part NO MATTER much more money I put into the LP12. The MDA1000 will always lag behind by the SAME percent!!! The human ear is engineered as an ANALOG device. Digital by its own process definition is an approximation. I still continue to smile at the thought that some people think digital means equal to analog.

Disagree completely.When someone says something sounds analog I think "Oh No".

[McMusicman]

[blacsno]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Disagree completely.When someone says something sounds analog I think "Oh No".

Okay....... But please tell me when you where physically altered with digital ears without a DIGITAL to ANALOG converter?

[blacsno]

Originally Posted by McMusicman

SWEET!!! That is SOOOOOOO flipping funny!!

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by blacsno

Okay....... But please tell me when you where physically altered with digital ears without a DIGITAL to ANALOG converter?

I don’t believe, with today’s technology, that either format is inherently better - a personal opinion of course, not a statement of fact - but I think the idea that analog is better because our ears are analog is what’s called an association fallacy: because A is true and B is true, A must equal B - or something like that.

Here’s another side of the same coin: digital is nothing more than analog data with discrete intervals - a model. Our ears are analog, but the inner ear converts sound to electrical impulses - analog data with discrete intervals - and sends them to the brain for interpretation, so maybe the whole hearing process is analog to digital. But that’s no more relevant than the argument that our ears are analog.

De gustibus non est disputandum - there’s no arguing with taste, or as my father used to translate it, “you can’t argue with Gus.”

[SCAudiophile]

For many years I thought "No".

As an aside, it is actually a red herring question as we don't listen directly to digital, ever, anyway. We are listening to the result of whatever D->A is in the chain and many other things!

After many years and advances in technology, cables, etc...my answer is now...

YES with a top line CD, SACD, XRCD playback system, transport, dac, masterclock, matching cables, powercord, etc...

Before y'all jump on this,...

Remember that we all tried the same types of things to get great vinyl playback...then it is cartridges, MM or MC, tonearm, lead wires, plinths, motors, drive type, power supplies, suspension/isolation, phono preamp, synergy the chain of play, gain matching, cables, power cords, vinyl, weight, color/composition and purity, what speed is best,78, 33, 45, which is better. etc....and so on and so forth. 5 TTs under my belt in years past I can tell you its pretty much "same @#$& different playback medium..." IMHO. [emoji2]

Many will disagree I am sure.

*If vinyl was always better, no matter what, it would not matter what kind of vinyl you bought and how you played it back. We know that is far from true.

I love vinyl playback, RTR too, and tubes while we are at it...have heard great systems of all types,..what matters most is quality of media, mastering chain and level of execution of the system and ultimately that you Enjoy The Music!!!

Again,...only my opinion.

The statement that our ears take in analog info is absolutely but I believe or brain is not pure analog as it processes electrical impusles received from our hearing system and interprets the sound. Is thr brain digital, no,...is it pure analog, definitely no as well.

And lastly...

“There*is a principle which is a*bar against all*information, which is proof*against all*arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by SCAudiophile

For many years I thought "No".

As an aside, it is actually a red herring question as we don't listen directly to digital, ever, anyway. We are listening to the result of whatever D->A is in the chain and many other things!

After many years and advances in technology, cables, etc...my answer is now...

YES with a top line CD, SACD, XRCD playback system, transport, dac, masterclock, matching cables, powercord, etc...

Before y'all jump on this,...

Remember that we all tried the same types of things to get great vinyl playback...then it is cartridges, MM or MC, tonearm, lead wires, plinths, motors, drive type, power supplies, suspension/isolation, phono preamp, synergy the chain of play, gain matching, cables, power cords, vinyl, weight, color, 78, 33, 45, which is better. etc....and so on and so forth. 5 TTs under my belt in years past I can tell you its pretty much "same @#$& different playback medium..." IMHO. [emoji2]

Many will disagree I am sure.

*If vinyl was always better, would not matter what kind of vinyl you bought and how you played it back. We know that is far from ture.

I love vinyl playback, RTR too, and tubes while we are at it...have heard great systems of all types,..what matters most is quality of media, mastering chain and level of execution of the system and ultimately that you Enjoy The Music!!!

Again,...only my opinion.

And lastly...

“There*is a principle which is a*bar against all*information, which is proof*against all*arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”

Well said.