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Does Anyone Think CD is Better Than Vinyl/Analog?

I am curious to know if anyone thinks the CD format (and I suppose that could include digital altogether) sounds better than vinyl and other analog formats. Who here has gone really far down both paths and can make a valid comparison? So far, I have only gone very far down the CD path and I just keep getting blown away by what the medium is capable of! I haven’t hit a wall yet. It is extremely dependent on proper setup, synergy and source material. Once you start getting those things right, the equipment gets out of the way and it can sound more fantastic than you can imagine! It’s led me to start developing a philosophy that goes something like this: Digital IS “perfect sound forever”; it’s what we do to the signal between the surface of the CD and the speaker cone that compromises it.” 
So I suppose what I’m asking for is stories from people who have explored both mediums in depth and came to the conclusion that CD has the most potential (or vice versa - that’s helpful too). And I don’t simply mean you’ve spent a lot of money on a CD player. I mean you’ve tinkered and tweaked and done actual “research in the lab,” and came back with a deep understanding of the medium and can share those experiences with others.

In my experience, the three most important things to get right are to find a good CD player (and good rarely means most expensive in my experience) and then give it clean power. In my case, I have modified my CD player to run off battery power with DC-DC regulators. The last thing that must be done right is the preamp. It’s the difference between “sounds pretty good” and “sounds dynamic and realistic.”
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Showing 3 responses by millercarbon

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millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
The cartridge I was using before had a hot top end and it sounded better on some recordings and worse on others.

Yes and it will always be this way as long as you try and stuff the square peg in the round hole.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
kren0006: So then, if we can agree that a top $300 digital front end beats a top $300 analog front end, how high up the source cost ladder must one climb before analog overtakes?
Millercarbon:
Well my 1976 Technics SL1700 was still in its box in the garage so I dug it out hooked it up and spent the rest of the day flabbergasted how easily this ancient relic clobbered CD. Wife came home and agreed.


What I neglected to mention, the cantilever got bent somehow and was eyeballed straight with pliers. That table was about $325 new in 1976. The California Audio Labs CDP it clobbered was three times the price. So I think it safe to say no amount of money will suffice. Analog, even with a bent cantilever, is street level. The source cost ladder you are talking about for digital does not climb up, it descends down through a manhole into the darkness. 

Granted, if what you do is tick off boxes on your typical audiophile checklist then a lot of those cheap old turntables are going to come up short. In fact if you are entrenched to the point of refusing to accept what you hear to the point you require every item on the list to be better, well then I give up you win. Because as we all know all you have to do is say, "noise" and digital wins hands down.  

Which is why I said up front the only ones like this are audiophiles. Normal people do not listen with a pencil in one hand and a list in the other. Normal people simply experience music. When that is the criteria records are unbeatable, and its not even close.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
My first few years were devoted to CD. Took a good solid 3 years working on every aspect and at last my dream system was done. Until that damn Robert Harley went and said the turntable is the heart of a high end audio system. WTF?

Well my 1976 Technics SL1700 was still in its box in the garage so I dug it out hooked it up and spent the rest of the day flabbergasted how easily this ancient relic clobbered CD. Wife came home and agreed.

First rig was a Basis 2001/Graham/Glider/PH3SE. Had quite a few CDs, tried and tried for years to get them to where I wanted to listen to them as much as records. You want stories of people who dug into it? Got a player so modded you can hardly get the lid back on. Pretty darn good for what it is. Sounds like crap compared to my current Miller Carbon/OL Conqueror/Koetsu/Herron rig.

Couple weeks ago I was over at Mike Lavigne’s place. Talk about digital taken to where you can’t imagine, he actually has done it. Sounds like you said, better than you can imagine. Best background music I ever heard. Because once he fires up his vinyl all bets are off. Any one of them. Doesn’t matter. Records rule.

Many times over the years I’ve had people want to compare. Always use one of my MoFi recordings because those are consistent in terms of source, sound quality, and mastering between the two formats. Never ever have anyone be less than stunned how much better the record sounds.

All except, that is, for audiophiles. Some of them are capable it seems of talking themselves into anything. That at least is the only explanation I can come up with. Not all audiophiles, mind you, but some.

Okay not the story you wanted. But it is true. And it even comes with a happy ending: you just might decide to try a turntable. This is how Harley got me. You can thank us later.
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