Digitally recorded vinyl vs streaming

Mojo, if you’re looking for a streamer, check out Lumin and Bricasti. They both offer different models with and without DACs. Since I have an external DAC, I purchased the Lumin U2 mini a few weeks ago. This is my first Lumin product. So far, I’ve been impressed on multiple levels. I’m definitely not an expert regarding streamers. As you can imagine, there is a lot of information available online regarding streamers. I’m sure you will find this site helpful. Your budget may also help narrow your list of options. 

I sold all my vinyl and vinyl playing gear over a year ago because frankly, there was no consistent "better" when comparing the 2 formats

I didn’t have a huge vinyl collection, maybe 250 albums. Sometimes the vinyl sounded better, sometimes the digital stream did. There was no question digital was quieter and much more convenient to access and explore. Ever buy an album and find it sounds crap, sometimes even unlistenable? That is a thing of the past for me now. I now only listen to music I "favorite" on my steaming platform. There is so much music out there. I feel life is too short to listen to crappy recordings, unless the performance is utterly compelling,

I also started with the Bluesound node a few years back, and at that time my vinyl set up was still often better. Since upgrading to an Auralic G2 streamer and Musician R2r Dac, I was so satisfied with the sound and thrilled with unlimited access to so much music on Tidal. that I found I simply wasn’t using the vinyl gear much and it was not worth the hassle.

BTW my vinyl set up was VPI Aries 2, turntable, Benz Wood Cartridge, Art Audio vinyl One tube phono preamp.

I suspect in a rush to cash in on the CD "perfect sound forever" craze, much Analog to digital mastering for CDs was done rather hastily, on converters that were primitive by todays standards (were talking 1980s). Much music has been digitally remastered and sounds wonderful now, So, in a nutshell, sold all my vinyl and playback gear, at top dollar I might add, and never looked back.

I've asked myself this same question. I doubt there's a singular answer, but I basically save my vinyl purchasing for analog recordings only. There are exceptions, but that's my rule of thumb. Just seems like the sonic benefits are maximized when the album was recorded to analog tape.

Mike Lavigne +1 agree right on the money. I do have good sacd players , and tube cdp, as well as analog rig, I always go back to vynil.

@decooney 

Congratulations on your purchase of BP.  It’s a fine sounding DAC and appropriate for pairing with decent streamer like Vault. I am currently using a SS DAC, which I am extremely happy with. There are no valve components in my system. If I ever choose to go valve route, picking a Lampizator DAC like GG2 would be my first choice. 

@mojo771 

In reference to your last post, there are lots of options depending on your budget. You can easily end up with something that can easily rival your analog rig. IMHO, it’s no longer about which format is superior given the advancements in both Analog and Digital gear. It comes down to personal preferences (some find it hard to give up tactile and curating experience of vinyl). I get that, but if original source of the recording is good, both Vinyl and Digital is equally capable of spine tingling experience. 

I believe your best foot forward is to find / audition DAC’s that elevate your digital playback before you dive into a better streamer like Aurender N200. In my experience, a DAC will yield much higher return on your investment than a streamer. This is not to suggest that streamer is not equally important but the ‘delta’ between streamer performance vs cost is bit smaller than the DAC’s. Another important thing to keep in mind while choosing a streamer is its User Interface (UI). Outside ROON, Aurender’s Conductor App is pretty straightforward and robust in its implementation and most faithful to your incoming bit stream. I believe Upscale Audio will let you home audition Aurender, once you’re ready.  Good luck!