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Another Analog v. Digital Thread? Not Really

I’ll try to keep this as short as possible. The premise is this: If the highest compliment that can be given to digital is that it sounds analog, why bother with digital? I would never have posted this question, but the other week something happened. After owning my Oppo 205 for about a year and a half, I decided to sell it given the fact I wasn’t that crazy about it and the selling prices were quite good, although I posted mine for significantly less than many others are asking. BTW - In the last month I owned the Oppo, I found it tremendously improved by placing a Vibrapod 3 under each foot.

So a nice young man comes by for an audition and he likes the Oppo very much and purchases it. He is into 4k and all that stuff, but also wants some better audio quality. So that’s that.

Before he leaves, he asks to hear a vinyl record played on my Basis turntable. It’s a nice table - 2001 with Vector arm and Transfiguration Orpheus. I would rate it as the low end of the high end. Well the guy’s jaw just dropped. After sitting for an hour listening to the Oppo, he says that everything is so much more "alive" was the word he used and he couldn’t get his mind around the fact that he was listening to the exact same system with everything the same except the source.

I was considering replacing the Oppo with something like a Cambridge transport and Orchid dac because I have to play my CDs, right? But then I starting thinking why I had to play CDs anymore at all. It’s not so crazy when you think about it. Many of us gave up vinyl when CDs started getting decent, so what’s so strange about going back in the other direction?

So I asked myself - if analog is so much better, why would I even bother listening to CDs anymore?
Convenience? Well, sure, but I don’t really consider putting on a record very inconvenient, so that’s not really it.
Many titles on CD that are not on vinyl? I think that argument may be largely dissipated nowdays. It seems that virtually anything I would remotely want to listen to is available on vinyl, either new or used. You have thousands of CDs? OK, but if they don’t sound as good as a record, why would you want to listen to them just because you have them. I know it seems like a waste, but it happens sometimes.

Let me just finish with this, so there’s no confusion. If you have some insane high-end digital rig that you believe outdoes analog, this is not directed to you. But, for anyone who believes the best compliment you can give to digital is that it sounds analog, why bother? Also, to you streamers out there, the freedom from having a large quantity of physical media in your home is definitely a good argument. We all collect too much stuff and it’s nice to get rid of some.

Hopefully, this will be taken in the spirit it’s given, but I doubt it.
Merry Christmas, really.
chayro

Showing 4 responses by chayro

chayro OP
3,027 posts
 
Just to attempt to be perfectly clear, which is not easy - this was just meant to be a question I asked myself before I knee-jerked into spending a few thousand to replace my digital setup. I never contemplated the idea of giving up on CDs until this incident, in which this young man’s reaction to hearing a decent vinyl setup, probably for the first time, reminded me of how much better my LPs sounded. 
Obviously, the choice is individual.
chayro OP
3,027 posts
 
@larryi - the Naim 555 series are in a class by themselves.  I could definitely give up analog for a 555 CD player.  And I don't know if I'll give up digital.  It was just the first time it even occurred to me. 

@twoleftears  - you may be right about obscure composers, but I would say my lp collection is at least 50% classical, albeit pretty mainstream stuff.  But all I was saying is the argument that a lot of music is not available on vinyl is less true today than it was years ago.  If your music is not, that's certainly a good enough reason to stick with digital. 
chayro OP
3,027 posts
 
Live music is great, but I found very few venues with great sound.  Carnegie Hall is surreal, but Lincoln Center should be ashamed of the sound in there.  I haven't been to the Vanguard in 100 years.  If you're old enough, you may remember Hoppers on 6th Ave down by NYU.  Saw Getz there, Monty Alexander.  It was glorious to see top-notch bands.  Saw Michele Legrand at Buddys Place.  But hifi is its own thing, IMO.  
chayro OP
3,027 posts
 
@audiozenology - Your comment about old ears or fan-boy vinyl certainly may be true in many cases, but in this particular scenario, it was the impression of a young person who had never heard a decent vinyl setup that made me question whether I was going to spend thousands to replace my digital setup.  Been listening to CDs for so long that I never gave a thought to just giving them up.  My guess is that I'll probably buy something after Christmas.  
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