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 three_easy_payments

@8th-note Ok, gotcha....just thought I’d ask. My vinyl experience has been different than yours from the same types of pressings you listen to. As long as you have a format you’re happy with that’s all that matters.
@8th-note  

Overall I want to make the point that in my system the CD version and the vinyl version usually sound pretty close.

This could be because most of your vinyl was made from digital? I don't even bother to buy vinyl unless it was cut using the original analog master tapes.  You want to experience the source as it was created, not digitized.  If it was digitized and then put on vinyl then a record has no advantages over CD to my ears - in fact it can only be unnecessarily noisier.