Well-recorded digital can sound better than "vinyl"...but typically it doesn't if it's highly processed for lowest common denominator (LCD) replay, as is most pop music for earbuds, cars, & boomboxes. But with high quality replay, over-processing artifacts are clearly audible. So vinyl in its heyday was mastered for highest quality in the groove. If these disks sound bad, it's usually a replay problem: improper alignment, tonearm-cantilever resonance, cartridge loading, preamp EQ, stylus tip shape, and more. With digital, there are "no user-serviceable adjustments inside." However with vinyl, consumers and installers are invited "inside," perhaps with a reference book such as "Better Sound from your Phonograph 2nd edition,” out now.
Digital is far better than vinyl
I have invested a decent sum of money into my digital setup, including a decent streamer (Innuos Zenith MK3), a very good dac (Denafrips Terminator 2), Eno filter, and good cabling. But after being told by many here that vinyl is vastly superior to digital, I thought let’s build an analog system and see what all the fuss is about. So this is what I did ...
I picked up an Audio Technica TT from Amazon for around $299. I then used one of the older integrated amps with a built-in phono, which I believe I paid around $500 a few years ago. And, finally, just to even out the playing field I bought the cheapest possible cables from alibaba. Since I didn’t have extra rack space to put the TT on, I got a couple of bricks and built a DIY platform for it.
So after listening to the analog setup for a few days, I can proclaim without a shadow of doubt that digital is far, far superior than vinyl on any given day, and twice a day on Sunday.
What has been your experience? And please, don’t mention your gear or any special. cartridges, isolation, etc. Not interested in your system details. I just want to make sure you guys understand that digital is far, far superior than vinyl.