Digitally recorded vinyl vs streaming


I know this is an hot button for many, but here goes... I like vinyl and have many albums from the 60's, 70's and 80's.  I'm interested in some 80's and 90's albums - like U2, REM, Nirvana,  but I wonder if they will sound any better than streaming since they were probably recored digitally.

mojo771

Showing 1 response by yoyoyaya

@mojo771 

There is no fixed answer to this because it depends on the quality of the playback system but also where the material is sourced from and, critically, when it was mastered.

Just to give an example. I very recently did an a/b/c comparison of a very well recorded album, copies of which I have on vinyl, cd, and available on streaming.

The album in question was originally recorded on a Studer A800 2 inch analogue multitrack and mastered to DAT.

My copy of the album dates to the time of original release as is the CD.

All of the playback equipment is of a high standard - Esoteric CD and network DAC and Clearaudio/Passlabs vinyl playback.

In terms of sound quality, the vinyl sounds best, slightly better than the streamed file, but both are better than the CD by quite a margin.

But that's just one specific instance. Other instances could give a completely different result.