Analog invites you to turn up the volume

@richardbrand 

Higher volume often reveals more detail and dynamic range, making music feel more engaging. Conversely, achieving a lower noise floor is far more critical in our environment. You can uncover a whole new layer of details just by lowering noise floor thus allowing us to play music at a sweet spot where clarity and enjoyment peak. 

Level-matching is indeed crucial for fair comparisons, as louder playback can skew perceptions of quality. Live music volumes, of course, are a whole other level, often exceeding what most home systems or listeners can comfortably achieve!

@lalitk 

That is exactly what I was trying to get across!

The noise floor argument surely favours digital, and especially high-resolution including DSD?  Wish I could get the noise floor of my house down to match.

My partner keeps telling me I am playing too loud, but she is happy to listen to any trumpeter or tenor at full blast, and they are much louder

@lalitk 

I was not comparing digital to vinyl at a given volume. I was noting that my favored volume for analog was at a higher volume than digital.

During the course of this thread I went back and attempted to level-match volumes but found I did not really care for the digital version as it approached the analog level at equivalent volume.

I am not disappointed in digital. It has afforded me great pleasure and I truly enjoy listening to it, typically for a few hours each day. Vinyl never really enticed me to do that because it is always a production. Digital is just some buttons and a few swipes. From my couch. 

I am delighted that digital has gotten to the point where it is eminently listenable and satisfying. If I did not know about analog, I would not miss it.

Kudos to those whose bits sound better than their waves. I hope to be there some day.