Paul McGowan Prefers Digital
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
IMO Ron, you can get really close to top vinyl replay with a good DAC now, and I would heartily recommend the Aries Cerat Kassandra. R2R DACs can (finally) play music with correct timbre, body and weight & do transparency without the cringy digital treble thing. And of course, it is nice to say goodbye to record noise. You can stream 2 million titles at 192K at up to resolution for 20 USD PM.Thank you!
I do think it makes sense for me to have some digital playback capability, if only to repeat easily a certain track to aid with set-up and speaker positioning. That is why I have a Musical Fidelity kW CD/SACD player.
Top respect to TT fans, things have progressed a lot in the last few years, and oddly on non oversampling DACs which are harking back to pre DS technology is where the really good sound is at.
Thank you for your thoughts. I don’t agree with several points, but I appreciate your post.
On what basis can you objectively adjudge my personal bafflement to have gone too far?
Yes, to my ears top tier analog is more transparent than top tier digital.
I really think you should figure out a way to audition leisurely and carefully in your own system an MSB DAC. I suspect it would result in you viewing the DACs you are familiar with in a different sonic light.
The MSB DACs have allowed me to enjoy listening to digital. They were a big and unexpected revelation to me.
1) Spotify is an easy way to find old music and new music, and to play music anyplace, anytime, very conveniently.
2) Ease of finding old music and new music, and convenience of playing music, has absolutely nothing to do with sound quality. Convenience and sound quality are two completely separate and different variables.
3) I assume that by ethos of this forum you are referring to the high value we here place on sound quality. My view that Spotify is a convenient way to find and to play old music and new music has nothing to do with sound quality, or with the high sound quality ethos of this forum.
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Thank you!
I do think it makes sense for me to have some digital playback capability, if only to repeat easily a certain track to aid with set-up and speaker positioning. That is why I have a Musical Fidelity kW CD/SACD player.
Considering that speaker set-up usually takes a long time, I would advise you to write 100 times "I hate digital and I must hate digital forever" before setting-up the speakers - otherwise you will risk getting used to distortion-free, high dynamics sound quality new music, even enjoying it!
I found Christy Moore recording "This is the day" on recommendation of the Wilson people as a set-up recording - the track "So do I" and really enjoyed the whole album - so much that it is now sitting on the Vivaldi to be played later today ...
Yep, Ron playing digital 100X over setting up his system, and as the 100th time comes around, he says "You know, that Paul could be right..."
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No doubt Paul is right. that each type of source setup is much different. A digital system is much simpler to set up IMHO.A DAC, cable,and transport or a server. Nothing but electronics, processor,laser pick up in my case. Once the hash is removed, speaker placement is the critical part.
That's what most vinylphiles do and then wonder why digital sounds inferior. A funny story - a few years back over a friend's house a few guys were comparing the digital to the record and were commenting how much better the record was. I then informed them that the owner's cartridge cost as much as his DAC putting things in perspective...
Not so much when you use Roon with Tidal or Qobuz and that's the appeal to so many audiophiles.
Ron, New Zealand is a beautiful country to visit; I'm sure your wife would warm up @ the suggestion.
I'm just trying to save Ron's the most money so that he can take his lovely wife to New Zealand.
Sbo6, I'm that typical vinyl guy who was as anti digital in the 80s as anyone. I regularly said to people "You're joking, right, that you prefer cd?!" LOL.
And the first decade of seriously building audio systems was a very pro analog period. I spent big on the Marantz SA1, and hated every moment of cd playback.
A decade ago I finally "got" digital w the Emm Labs CDSA SE, and five years later my current Eera Tentation cdp, and found in so many areas my analog was lacking.
And just as I felt that my lot in life was cast w analog I couldn't quite get right, I've reoptimised my tt with a critical addition to my tonearm, and like waking from a trance, I've got my analog absolutely rocking again, handily outperforming my digital.
So, I come to Ron's thread as a previously 100% analog headbanger who has fully embraced digital, now only a 50% headbanger.
I remain perplexed Ron hasn't found more on digital he cant do without. Sarah McLachlan is a favourite of his, and I'm sure there are non vinyl titles on cd or streaming. Barry showed me a bunch of things on his IPad.
I couldn't imagine being a fan of hers and not wanting songs or albums even if not on vinyl.
Too bad Ron never found a digital source he liked some years ago as I did.
And the first decade of seriously building audio systems was a very pro analog period. I spent big on the Marantz SA1, and hated every moment of cd playback.
A decade ago I finally "got" digital w the Emm Labs CDSA SE, and five years later my current Eera Tentation cdp, and found in so many areas my analog was lacking.
And just as I felt that my lot in life was cast w analog I couldn't quite get right, I've reoptimised my tt with a critical addition to my tonearm, and like waking from a trance, I've got my analog absolutely rocking again, handily outperforming my digital.
So, I come to Ron's thread as a previously 100% analog headbanger who has fully embraced digital, now only a 50% headbanger.
I remain perplexed Ron hasn't found more on digital he cant do without. Sarah McLachlan is a favourite of his, and I'm sure there are non vinyl titles on cd or streaming. Barry showed me a bunch of things on his IPad.
I couldn't imagine being a fan of hers and not wanting songs or albums even if not on vinyl.
Too bad Ron never found a digital source he liked some years ago as I did.
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G’day Marc,
Your journey in and out of the digital and analogue darklands and back into the light is classic audiophile stuff and good to read... but it is a journey and journeying is about not staying in the same place but exploring as our instinct and inspiration lead us... and though you may return in a journey but you will always likely be changed and so experience even the original starting place differently.
That’s what is really good about this place, you get to share in other’s journeys so I’m not so sure why you are so very intent on changing Ron’s journey. He seems perfectly happy going in the direction he is. As long as no-one is doing any harm and are happy then it’s all good to allow everyone the right of discovery in their very own time and very own way... that’s what makes it a personal journey and not a Contiki bus trip.
Your journey in and out of the digital and analogue darklands and back into the light is classic audiophile stuff and good to read... but it is a journey and journeying is about not staying in the same place but exploring as our instinct and inspiration lead us... and though you may return in a journey but you will always likely be changed and so experience even the original starting place differently.
That’s what is really good about this place, you get to share in other’s journeys so I’m not so sure why you are so very intent on changing Ron’s journey. He seems perfectly happy going in the direction he is. As long as no-one is doing any harm and are happy then it’s all good to allow everyone the right of discovery in their very own time and very own way... that’s what makes it a personal journey and not a Contiki bus trip.
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Tao, no way am I trying to change him. If you know anything about Ron, you'll know he's a very passionately single minded fellow. His system building, and fight to sort his room, are testament to this.
He started a thread throwing skepticism on Paul's statement, and we've followed suit w our individual levels of skepticism aimed at Ron.
I'm just wondering had Ron heard digital that was palatable to him several years back as the MSB is palatable to him now, and my Eera cdp is an example of truly analog-centric digital, a 2009 design, maybe Ron would have at least partially embraced cd.
My 180 a decade ago, starting w Emm Labs, and completed by Eera, was a wake up call to be open to digital. And has pushed me harder to get the most out of my analog.
He started a thread throwing skepticism on Paul's statement, and we've followed suit w our individual levels of skepticism aimed at Ron.
I'm just wondering had Ron heard digital that was palatable to him several years back as the MSB is palatable to him now, and my Eera cdp is an example of truly analog-centric digital, a 2009 design, maybe Ron would have at least partially embraced cd.
My 180 a decade ago, starting w Emm Labs, and completed by Eera, was a wake up call to be open to digital. And has pushed me harder to get the most out of my analog.
I like Mike Lavigne's journey best. It is wide in all directions.
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It's funny; it's always about us and them...never about the music world.
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It's funny; it's always about us and them...never about the music world.
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