Great vinyl sound seems to cost more than great CD sound, but once you get to the high end, analog really can pull ahead. I've had the chance to compare the CDSD/DCC2 to a Brinkmann Balance/Brinkmann arm/Lyra Titan/Lamm LP2 setup. SACD vs LP was close. I preferred the LP in the comparisons, but someone could easily prefer the SACD. LP vs red book was no comparison on any of the three albums I had to compare (Radiohead - Amnesiac, Modest Mouse - The Moon Over Antartica, A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms).
I'm seriously considering adding a high end analog setup to my system plan, but it is a lot of money. There are a lot of best-of-the-best digital solutions for less than the Brinkmann setup would cost me. As far as less expensive analog goes, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. It has to be really good for me to be willing to deal with flipping over the first record, then putting on the second, then flipping it over to get the same music I get on one side of a CD.
I'm seriously considering adding a high end analog setup to my system plan, but it is a lot of money. There are a lot of best-of-the-best digital solutions for less than the Brinkmann setup would cost me. As far as less expensive analog goes, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. It has to be really good for me to be willing to deal with flipping over the first record, then putting on the second, then flipping it over to get the same music I get on one side of a CD.