Can digital get to vinyl sound and at what price?

[hopkins]

Technically vinyl doesn't come close to digital
Liking or disliking the sound of analog or digital more , is a different story .
But talking strictly about the technical specs , digital is so superior it's not even funny .
Obviously you could like the analog sound more and I wouldn't argue with you if it's more organic /musical sounding
But as for accuracy , digital is the way to go
That's the closest you're going to get to the original master.

How do you reconcile the fact that digital has these inherent technical advantages yet requires, according to it's most enthusiastic backers, highly sophisticated and custom solutions to sound good?

The answer is that these technical advantages are in fact meaningless for music enjoyment. Simple logic...

The main benefits of digital audio are the lack of deterioration of the medium over time.

Another potential benefit, is to avoid some of the issues with the inaccuracy of vinyl "decoding" (playback speed, cartridge accuracy, vibrations, etc...).

But there are also accuracy issues with digital.

So it becomes a highly technical discussion. Better off to just listen and enjoy, and show some humility.

 

[AudioGod]

How do you reconcile the fact that digital has these inherent technical advantages yet requires, according to it's most enthusiastic backers, highly sophisticated and custom solutions to sound good?

The answer is that these technical advantages are in fact meaningless for music enjoyment. Simple logic...

I don't know what others claim
But I claim that a good 1000$ DAC technically surpasses any vinyl rig on the planet , it's not even close.
The technical advantages are anything but meaningless .
It's pure measurable science .

 

[hopkins]

I don't know what others claim
But I claim that a good 1000$ DAC technically surpasses any vinyl rig on the planet , it's not even close.
The technical advantages are anything but meaningless .
It's pure measurable science .

It seems you have missed my point. Think about it some more...

 

[abeidrov]

I don't know what others claim
But I claim that a good 1000$ DAC technically surpasses any vinyl rig on the planet , it's not even close.
The technical advantages are anything but meaningless .
It's pure measurable science .

Thanks to you many messages in this thread should be moved to the WBF Humour and Joke thread. You’ve made my day

 

[PeterA]

streaming mostly. most of my recordings are more modern so recorded on digital to start with not an a2d conversion. For that kind of a recording there isnt a point going back to vinyl as the source is digital anyways. but comparing a modern record on vinyl vs one on digital the digital does win. wrt old vinyl that is analogue to start with - they are good i agree and i have even listened to some lacquer discs as well . most of whats there is the dynamisms and how quickly you can shift from highs to lows, that too is also possible and seen in my digital ....however it is much much harder to achieve for most systems. Details wise which is an easier goal i can confirm is not lacking on analogue vs digital .

To give an idea....for the network side and this is only 1 part of my digital setup. where we have nbn in australia - i use the coaxial cable off the st but with a holding plug installed using only the core wire to all the connection points without another metal layer.. The switch room is away from the music room with 3 layers of power filtration and 1 layer of active grounding. There are 3 linear power supplies - modified sean jacobs top of the line units and faradpower.

One lps for the nbn modem router , one lps for the switch which is a heavily modified draytek which runs ethernet to the main room. the draytek then has fiber to a melco that connects to a hp switch that supplies the rest of the house. dampening isolation etcetc. so just for the network alone there has been countless layers of experimenting with countless hours in there. A good digital has to start with the network. If you just run a single ethernet cable to the wall or the switch without any upstream work....of course your digital cant beat analogue. Most ppl do not optimise what is outside of the room.

by countless layers...for eg. simply the coaxial cable for the internet alone - i have audtitioned some 20 different cables.... the end result is easy but it took a lot of time and effort to get there. Simply buying equipment and just plugging it in regardless of the brand is not going to make digital better than analogue that is hopefully the message i am putting across here

Could you please describe the analog set up to which you compare this digital?

 

[Argonaut]

People have tried to convince me of getting a vinyl rig. Why should I? I love my digital, and I can enjoy vinyl at friends' houses

Go On Al …. You know it makes sense

 

[Lagonda]

I don't know what others claim
But I claim that a good 1000$ DAC technically surpasses any vinyl rig on the planet , it's not even close.
The technical advantages are anything but meaningless .
It's pure measurable science .

Have you spent any of your $80 K speaker budget yet, or are you still between systems ? Theory is one thing, real life performance something completely different !

 

[AudioGod]

Have you spent any of your $80 K speaker budget yet, or are you still between systems ? Theory is one thing, real life performance something completely different !

Lol
Not yet
But I don't have to spend money to know that
digital is better than vinyl
it's simple science .
Could I like vinyl sound more than digital ?.It's possible but not likely Becaue I know it's not as accurate , and accuracy is above all to me in this hobby.
Yes I'm a closet objectivist
You all caught me

 

[PeterA]

Lol
Not yet
But I don't have to spend money to know that
digital is better than vinyl
it's simple science .
Could I like vinyl sound more than digital ?.It's possible but not likely Becaue I know it's not as accurate , and accuracy is above all to me in this hobby

You should seek out a member at AudioNirvana named ACK. His primary interest in the hobby is attaining accuracy to the recording. Live music is a completely separate interest for him. He listens to a highly modified VPI turntable as his primary source.

I think the two of you would have a very interesting discussion. You should also hook up with Bonzo who doesn’t have a system either. He does however expose himself to a lot of different stereo presentations and has equally strong convictions.

 

[AudioGod]

You should seek out a member at AudioNirvana named ACK. His primary interest in the hobby is attaining accuracy to the recording. Live music is a completely separate interest for him. He listens to a highly modified VPI turntable as his primary source.

I think the two of you would have a very interesting discussion. You should also hook up with Bonzo who doesn’t have a system either. He does however expose himself to a lot of different stereo presentations and has equally strong convictions.

"His primary interest in the hobby is attaining accuracy to the recording"
I'm surprised that it's not everyone's goal around here.
Thanks for the other tips
I'm also surprised that Bonzo doesn't have a system
He's probably the most prolific member on WBF

 

[Al M.]

"His primary interest in the hobby is attaining accuracy to the recording"
I'm surprised that it's not everyone's goal around here.
Thanks for the other tips
I'm also surprised that Bonzo doesn't have a system
He's probably the most prolific member on WBF

Bonzo not having a system allows him to more freely and easily criticize everyone else's choices . Not committing has its advantages...

We are still waiting for, as XV-1 coined it, KABAS.

 

[PeterA]

Bonzo not having a system allows him to more freely and easily criticize everyone else's choices . Not committing has its advantages...

We are still waiting for, as XV-1 coined it, KABAS.

Yes, not committing saves some money and avoids mistakes.

Al, could you remind us about what Shane coined as KABAS? I think I missed that one.

 

[Al M.]

Yes, not committing saves some money and avoids mistakes.

Al, could you remind us about what Shane coined as KABAS? I think I missed that one.

Ked Actually Buys A System

 

[Tangram]

Ked Actually Buys A System

He’s free to answer for himself but I suspect living in uber-pricey, cramped London, makes it a difficult proposition when searching for accommodations with a room that can do his virtual system justice.

 

[Al M.]

He’s free to answer for himself but I suspect living in uber-pricey, cramped London, makes it a difficult proposition when searching for accommodations with a room that can do his virtual system justice.

Yeah, you need some serious space for those Altec Dual FLHs or whatever else he may have in mind.

 

[bonzo75]

Bonzo not having a system allows him to more freely and easily criticize everyone else's choices . Not committing has its advantages...

And you not releasing videos despite having a system and criticising videos. Not releasing videos has its advantages.

 

[bonzo75]

Ked Actually Buys A System

Alvin. Al’s video is now available

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Could you please describe the analog set up to which you compare this digital?

it's very good.

but that does not mean i agree with his ranking of digital and analog.

 

[bonzo75]

Could you please describe the analog set up to which you compare this digital?

what he said is this “most of my recordings are more modern so recorded on digital to start with not an a2d conversion. For that kind of a recording there isnt a point going back to vinyl as the source is digital anyways.”

 

[PeterA]

it's very good.

but that does not mean i agree with his ranking of digital and analog.

Mike, I understand now. By proper analog he is saying a tape machine like yours. He sounds very convinced of his opinion. That is fine.