Can vinyl get to digital sound and at what price?
Absolutely. Another A v D thread. What a great idea.
Can digital get to vinyl sound and at what price?
- Thread starter ScottK
- Start date
I would go with option 2.
Antipodes is nice I have the S Series I have heard their Oladra frequently at a friend's place, it is clearly a step or two beyond. Is Antipodes the best option? I certainly don't know but it would be an excellent start!
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Reminds me of discussions I had 15 years ago with DJs and the comments from some hardcore analog proponents like Ricardo Villalobos and Tony Andrews (Funktion One).
Around the same time I stopped buying CDs and vinyl. Shortly afterwards - after several moves within a short period of time, I became aware of the enormous convenience of digital media. No more boxes stuffed with CDs and records, just a storage/media server and a few USB sticks, each with more hi-res tracks than 100 cases with 12 inches.
Fast forward 15 years... Vinyl DJ sets have become an exception.
Analogue sound is more 'chaotic' than digital (not my words, but from an ex-BBC engineer).
Another example: a few years ago I sent a producer a VST of the Roland 303 (analog bass synthesizer with sequencer developed by Tadao Kikumoto in 1981).
After comparing the sound to his original hardware version, he admitted that he would not be able to 'blindly' distinguish an 'original' from the VST > since all hardware versions sound (marginally) different.
Conclusion (apart from recording-dependent variables): you can digitally emulate analog, but try doing it the other way around.
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9k is a serious amount for a streaming device, even more so if you primarily play locally stored music and already own a proper DAC.
My 2 cents.
… considering this is a Roon core, a server and a streaming bridge (incl. reclocker) all in one and with regard to all the „negative“ impact on the sound introduced by noise when using standard setups, it seems quite a bargain and an option to evaluate if differences really are that big…. also with regard to some setups here it’s almost low price… all a question of perspective I suppose…
Not really familiar with Roon > might give it a shot though, but if it's only for discovering new music... there are plenty of alternatives, including spotify and even youtube.
Many uploads on YT are actually WAV/flac files, but throttled while streaming.
Skimmed through this review and I guess it's not for me. I'd rather use a laptop/pc + storage server/NAS + studio DAC (e.g. Antelope).
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A friend of mine had an Antelope DAC with external power supply (Volticus I think it was called). Typical "meh" sounding D/S dac...I found it to be rather unmusical.
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
Roon is a streamer/server. Spotify is horrible sound wise and is what my kids use on their phone. With Roon you will need a subscription and yes Spotify will work on Roon yet I do not know why you would use is. Qobuz and Tidal are much better. Way better alternatives to Roon and Spotify on the market.
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
Then use a old laptop and an ssd, sound quality will suffer but you do you.
Use a better powersupply laptop then foobar ramdisk mode 32gb ram load your music(playlist) in there. then use usb reclocker mutec then digital out aes /ebu to your dac.
Then you get a really good sound.
Most folks who have owned the Taiko Extreme are thrilled with it, and for several years it has been king of the hill. Now with the new Taiko “Olympus” pending release, there will be great prices on used Extreme servers, either from original owner or from Taiko who offers generous trade-in. That would get you way past base camp on the way to top level digital, and IMHO an Extreme makes every DAC sound better. You could then audition DAC to find the flavor you like best. Of course, you can add the ancillary parts router, switch, etc for final tweaking.
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
You get really good sound compared to???
I was an early adapter of Roon SQ was much better than the old Stick Pap with filters. Moved on to the Innuos product line and have not looked back. Just saying these is better out there and better stuff than my Zenith.. However for my purposes the Zenith and LessLoss Echos End R DAC have me in my happy place. Also Innuos Sense interface is perfect for us.
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comparative prices might be helpful to @skinnyfla Have made a guess below about the price of a used Extreme.
Antipodes K22 = $9,000 + cost of storage
Grimm MU1 = $10,500 + cost of storage
Taiko Extreme (used) = $19,000? with 2 TB storage
Compared to good CD transport like Wadia 7, I lose something absolutely black in the bass. to a la rosita streamer "black hole" I lose some unity in the music I can live with that. You just have to set foobar correctly and use the ASIO driver. I won't change that anymore, the modern software plays lifeless on the other hand, no dynamic like analog (lp)my opion
Republicoftexas69
Well-Known Member
Glad it works for you. If you had better streaming gear you would know what you are missing. I rip all CD's and I still love you analog (vinyl) for sure. Just using a laptop is not for me. opinion.
Thanks, if you find a better streamer like la rosita tell me. That the best i ever heared.
No matter how you go about it, the main thing is that you are ultimately happy with it. Many roads lead to Rome.
Exsample vid link how it sound
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Here is a CD track that sounds really good, in my opinion.
It is also available on Qobuz.
I don't see how a well recorded track like this one could really sound any better on vinyl. We will never know, as the album is not available on vinyl
On my system, I think it sounds fabulous, either using speakers or headphones. The guitar and vocals are very clear, there are lots of subtle details, depth, space, presence, etc ... What's not to like?
You don't need the best digital system to appreciate the recording.
The recording is much better than the vast majority of overproduced and boring sounding tracks that you commonly find on "audiophile digital playlists".
I do have many examples, on the other hand, where the digital versions are clearly limited, for whatever reason, and the vinyl version sounds better.
Perhaps the best thing for people to make up their mind about all this is to listen to various recordings on different systems and simply ask themselves whether the sound is really satisfying.
If you want to listen to a wide variety of music and to the best recordings I don't see how you can avoid using both analog and digital.
It is also available on Qobuz.
I don't see how a well recorded track like this one could really sound any better on vinyl. We will never know, as the album is not available on vinyl
On my system, I think it sounds fabulous, either using speakers or headphones. The guitar and vocals are very clear, there are lots of subtle details, depth, space, presence, etc ... What's not to like?
You don't need the best digital system to appreciate the recording.
The recording is much better than the vast majority of overproduced and boring sounding tracks that you commonly find on "audiophile digital playlists".
I do have many examples, on the other hand, where the digital versions are clearly limited, for whatever reason, and the vinyl version sounds better.
Perhaps the best thing for people to make up their mind about all this is to listen to various recordings on different systems and simply ask themselves whether the sound is really satisfying.
If you want to listen to a wide variety of music and to the best recordings I don't see how you can avoid using both analog and digital.
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That's just an example. You can use any DAC you like, preferably fully balanced and with transformer coupled output.
Personally I don't see merits in additional (re)clocking in hifi context. Of course, it's different in a recording environment.
Any pc/laptop used as a playback device for DSD/WAV/flac files straight into a decent DAC will beat any streaming solution (by definition), as long as it supports UAC2.
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