I had a phono 20+ years ago with scratched-up 14-minute-a-side albums. I had not heard vinyl since. In the last 10 years, as I built up my current and last system, I have been 100% digital. I have had outstanding DAC's in Lumin X-1. Lampi Horizon and Pacific and my current DAC AC Kassandra. My Music server is Lucas Audio LDMS which plays a supercritical role for me. I love my music.
Last week a new Audiophile friend invited me to his house for a listening session. He had a super nice turntable with Constellation and PS Audio source equipment. He was able to set up a direct experiment going from Vinyl to Digital to CD with the same song. I could tell a difference within 15 seconds. Vinyl was king followed by CD followed by Digital. I was bummed. Here I thought my digital system was king. I could say that his source was not as good as mine and that was true but I am not sure to the degree I heard. So after seeing this thread for a long time, I can finally respond.
I still love the convenience of sitting in my chair and just switching music on my computer but I do know that I am missing something. It is not enough to make me start buying albums and buying a turntable. Thankfully, I have no room anyway.
If it was not so hard, I would love to take my digital systems over to his house just to do another comparison but I can say that Vinyl is king for a true audio experience.