Can digital get to vinyl sound and at what price?

[Mblu]

I had 2 vinyle set-up in recent years, lp12/aro and Nottingham Dais/benz LP/ASR phono.
In either case, I was not more satisfied with music/sound than with my CD player of that time. I sold both and never regretted, acknowledging though that I was myself most certainly guilty not being capable of tuning it properly.

I recently listened to a MSB ref coupled to a Grimm server, then we listened to a transrotor. What a jump in terms of ambiance, decays, quality of timbres, dynamics, even bass.
it only confirmed to me that
1. the next time I buy a vinyle set-up, I let it installed by pros
2. People we see here, with the best possible digital set-up AND incredible vinyle system, are not at all stupid to have both

What I could not determine, is the minimum vinyle set-up that I would need to justify investing in a second source. Also, this transrotor was incredible in terms of transparency, but I imagine that there are many alternatives, more “romantic”, more singing, etc, upon cartridges and arms. A full time job to find out …

 

[Bruce B]

Ask professional sound engineers
No audiophile knows more than the
person who creates the album

I would sort of agree to this.... If you're not there in the room/hall/studio where the recording/mixing/mastering is happening, then it's all just anectotal.

 

[AudioGod]

I would sort of agree to this.... If you're not there in the room/hall/studio where the recording/mixing/mastering is happening, then it's all just anectotal.

I'm talking about sound engineers that were in the studio and say there's practically no difference from the original master when transferred to digital .
But that there's a big difference when it's transferred to analog .
Becaue vinyl has it's own sound and is much less accurate than digital .

 

[Lee]

I'm talking about sound engineers that were in the studio and say there's practically no difference from the original master when transferred to digital .
But that there's a big difference when it's transferred to analog .
Becaue vinyl has it's own sound and is much less accurate than digital .

I agree with Bruce that being in the studio is important for the most valid comparisons but I don’t agree that vinyl is “much less accurate” than digital. Digital has it’s own sound as well and is subject to it’s own distortions and ADC-DAC playback issues.

A well-recorded and well-mastered LP can sound breathtakingly good.

In my own experience, LP offers sonics on par or above with hirez digital such as DSDx2 and 24/192 PCM.

 

[Lee]

Also don’t forget about the musical density of analog tape.

Sound of Tape — ATR Magnetics

www.atrtape.com

 

[Lee]

One more observation if I might.

As I get older and happier, I see more clearly the value of good sound and music. And I also see the value of high end audio having less drama. I have been extremely blessed to have really top notch gear that I could only dream of in the late 80s when I started my career. My Rossini Apex is damn good digital that is very musical and just sounds wonderful although I know the Vivaldi Apex is even better. My Continuum Caliburn is a reference turntable that demonstrates daily how great vinyl can sound. I can go downstairs to the music room and enjoy each thoroughly. With each, my mind becomes totally and completely immersed in the sound and performance, the overall gestalt as @PeterA eloquently put it.

We are genuinely living in a Golden Age of fine recording and playback. A listen to @Bruce B Wilson LPs and tapes confirm that. My path is that I am Switzerland, or completely format neutral.

If @AudioGod wants to enjoy a fully digital experience then I sincerely wish him well. Maybe he even does me a service as digital fans create an incentive for the dCS and MSBs of the world to keep pushing the envelope.

And equally importantly, I would feel the same way if I had more modest gear. Indeed I felt the same way when I had the unmodified VPI Scoutmaster and Benchmark DAC2.

 

[Joe Whip]

Gee, I hate to wade into these waters but last night played the new Carmen Gomes, Inc. recording in DXD through my lowly Schiit Yggy LIM from a Macbook Pro M1 with AS. The sound was totally holographic. Breathtaking.

 

[Al M.]

We are genuinely living in a Golden Age of fine recording and playback.

Totally agree. No need to get nostalgic about the past.

 

[AudioGod]

One more observation if I might.

As I get older and happier, I see more clearly the value of good sound and music. And I also see the value of high end audio having less drama. I have been extremely blessed to have really top notch gear that I could only dream of in the late 80s when I started my career. My Rossini Apex is damn good digital that is very musical and just sounds wonderful although I know the Vivaldi Apex is even better. My Continuum Caliburn is a reference turntable that demonstrates daily how great vinyl can sound. I can go downstairs to the music room and enjoy each thoroughly. With each, my mind becomes totally and completely immersed in the sound and performance, the overall gestalt as @PeterA eloquently put it.

We are genuinely living in a Golden Age of fine recording and playback. A listen to @Bruce B Wilson LPs and tapes confirm that. My path is that I am Switzerland, or completely format neutral.

If @AudioGod wants to enjoy a fully digital experience then I sincerely wish him well. Maybe he even does me a service as digital fans create an incentive for the dCS and MSBs of the world to keep pushing the envelope.

And equally importantly, I would feel the same way if I had more modest gear. Indeed I felt the same way when I had the unmodified VPI Scoutmaster and Benchmark DAC2.

It would be interesting to do a blind test between a pro DAC like an RME ADI-2 Pro FS and a hi end turntable .
I'm not sure it would be possible to know which is which

 

[Joe Whip]

Having lived in the past, it isn’t what it is cracked up to be by some.

 

[Al M.]

Having lived in the past, it isn’t what it is cracked up to be by some.

Yup, the "good ole times" were never that good. I enjoy life in the here and now more than ever. I don't hanker for the "days of my youth".

Society, technology and just everyday goodies have progressed.

 

[Al M.]

Gee, I hate to wade into these waters but last night played the new Carmen Gomes, Inc. recording in DXD through my lowly Schiit Yggy LIM from a Macbook Pro M1 with AS. The sound was totally holographic. Breathtaking.

Except that the lowly Schiit Yggy LIM is lowly only in price, not in performance.

And of course, some "serious" folks don't appreciate the name joke.

 

[Joe Whip]

Yup, the "good ole times" were never that good. I enjoy life in the here and now more than ever. I don't hanker for the "days of my youth".

Society, technology and just everyday goodies have progressed.

The only thing better in the past for me is less arthritis.

 

[hopkins]

The only thing better in the past for me is less arthritis.

I'd be happy to be transported back to NYC in 1944, for example, and hit the clubs My rig does a pretty good job at transporting me back, but the live music available from those days is just a tiny fraction (a drop in the ocean) of what was played back then everyday of the week.

Lester Young, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington... and many more.

I would also get to see Sugar Ray Robinson in his prime!

 

[Joe Whip]

True but I would see these folks and then come back to the present. No way I would want to live in 1944.

 

[AudioGod]

One more observation if I might.

As I get older and happier, I see more clearly the value of good sound and music. And I also see the value of high end audio having less drama. I have been extremely blessed to have really top notch gear that I could only dream of in the late 80s when I started my career. My Rossini Apex is damn good digital that is very musical and just sounds wonderful although I know the Vivaldi Apex is even better. My Continuum Caliburn is a reference turntable that demonstrates daily how great vinyl can sound. I can go downstairs to the music room and enjoy each thoroughly. With each, my mind becomes totally and completely immersed in the sound and performance, the overall gestalt as @PeterA eloquently put it.

We are genuinely living in a Golden Age of fine recording and playback. A listen to @Bruce B Wilson LPs and tapes confirm that. My path is that I am Switzerland, or completely format neutral.

If @AudioGod wants to enjoy a fully digital experience then I sincerely wish him well. Maybe he even does me a service as digital fans create an incentive for the dCS and MSBs of the world to keep pushing the envelope.

And equally importantly, I would feel the same way if I had more modest gear. Indeed I felt the same way when I had the unmodified VPI Scoutmaster and Benchmark DAC2.

I have to wonder
If you're coming from the pro world
Why aren't you using studio monitors as speaekrs ?

 

[Lee]

I have to wonder
If you're coming from the pro world
Why aren't you using studio monitors as speaekrs ?

Because they are inferior compared to my Wilsons. Have you ever heard a pair of Genelecs?

 

[PeterA]

Totally agree. No need to get nostalgic about the past.

Come on Al, I know you like your early Black Sabbath. I just wish I had kept my original LPs from those daze of confusion.

 

[AudioGod]

Because they are inferior compared to my Wilsons. Have you ever heard a pair of Genelecs?

Heard ?They are my favorite monitors on planet earth

 

[PeterA]

Yup, the "good ole times" were never that good. I enjoy life in the here and now more than ever. I don't hanker for the "days of my youth".

Society, technology and just everyday goodies have progressed.

Everyone seems different. I actually like them both Al. I am fortunate to have many fond memories and few regrets. The past and present are both good for me, and I realize they are certainly different.