Anyone notice different amounts of surface noise with different arms?

@dhcod I like sound, period. I did not say digital versions always sounds better. Digital sources can in the end provide better reproduction with lower noise and distortion. Whether or not a digital version sounds better is very dependent on mastering. At this point in history 95% of all music is recorded digitally. As for your group think, unless that type of comparison is done very carefully, blinding the panel it is virtually meaningless. 

The greatest sources of signal corruption are the loudspeakers and the room they are in. A system can be measured and these deficiencies corrected with digital signal processing without adding any distortion or noise. If starting with a digital recording it is best to stay digital until the very end of the chain, the amplifier. Going back and forth between formats is never a good thing. 

Anyone who always prefers analog sources and systems has a psychological issue. Nothing in this life is always except death and taxes.

@mijostyn :  As ​​​​​​@dhcod  said " It’s just what you like, what sounds bring YOU pleasure. "

Now, " I have gone back and forth between analog RIAA correction and digital RIAA correction and I can not tell the difference. " :

of course you can't because at the end your system and specially the bass range works in the digital domain. I'm not talking which RIAA is better but  maybe why you can't hear differences.

Anyway at the end we are listening what we like it and not what should be.

R.

@mijostyn Blinding the panel isn’t what music listening determination is about. It’s what you enjoy listening over a long period of time. I’ve had state of the art digital in my personal listening system and boy it sounds awesome. And then after a few days I want to kill myself because it’s just not conducive to long term listening. With good analog, I’m hard pressed to turn off the music. With even the best digital, I’m out after about 45 minutes.

By the way, the music is recorded digitally but there’s a ton of analog elements in between because artists know digital sucks. They hate it.

@mijostyn Now I am curious about your turntable! 

If I ever have the money, and the Garrard does not work out, I have my eye on a Slovenian Holbo deck which has a tangential arm riding on air, and an air-bearing platter.  About the same price as one of your cartridges, or an SME V tonearm.

I heard one playing at a B&W demonstration evening and was impressed, so I went back later with a few of my records.  Sounded good, even playing through B&W speakers, and got me interested in vinyl again!

@mijostyn Sorry, you did say your table was a Sota Cosmos Vacuum table!