How many of you are digital only systems?

I'm fully digital, with my sources being Amazon Music HD via Echo, and ripped CDs and Bandcamp FLAC downloads via laptop running MusicBee. I run digital because it's more convenient, it doesn't take up space, it's cheaper, most of the music I listen to isn't released on vinyl anyway and digital is an inherently more accurate medium. I sold all my vinyl and most of my CDs. I see no reason for physical media anymore. And someone starting vinyl now also incurs the additional steep cost of the turntable and cartridge, whereas my laptop was $149 and my Dot was $19.

I am into both vinyl and digital.  From a cost standpoint there is no debate that bang for the buck digital is the only way to go.  I think that vinyl has a more natural, organic sound but the cost for the improvement ... not worth it.  However many of us are in this hobby, like many hobbies not for the cost but for the sheer enjoyment.  Just in my vinyl rig, turntable, cartridge, step-up transformer and phono section, I have over $25k and that is without buying any records.

My front end is digital streaming, with an on board DAC, into an analog integrated. I'm done with records and CD's.

Like many I feel nostalgic about records and RtoR.

IMO if I added back a TT again the set up would be at least 30K-40K to be on par. To me records need the whole works, starting with a great phono preamp.

Needless to say for well less than 40K one can get everything. 

I have heard both great and poor examples of each.

One thing that's a deal maker for me is being able to skip a track rapidly.

I'm probably 90% digital, streaming dominates, 2500 or so cd rips. I've found optimizing streaming solution to be most complex and interesting undertaking in my audio experience. Since streaming I've been exposed to so much more music, relative cost of music is  amazingly low! Listening sessions greatest variation in genre, every session a steam of consciousness experience.

As for digital sound, only early, lets say prior to 2000 digital recording are generally poor. As a/d and d/a converters have progressively improved so has the sense of naturalness from digital recordings. As for inherent advantages of both formats, I find balance in favor of digital.

I do have well over 2500 vinyl so I've progressively improved my analog setup, just not to the extent I've improved digital. Steam of consciousness listening beats all the necessary involvements of proper playing of precious albums. All the up and down, twenty minutes or so max listening time and having to listen to particular lesser quality cuts bothers me. Still, I do occasionally enjoy all the involvement vinyl requires, the physical nature of this involvement is something streaming and cd rips can't replicate.

Completely digital on all my systems now, you need excellent (pleasing to you, audio signature) DAC and SACD player, putting tubes strategically into the mix of each system IMHO is the clincher. Let’s not forget the convience and shear volume of source material that digital offers. I was forced into digital with the loss of all my vinyl a couple decades ago and it took a long time to adjust because of early digital issues (we all know what those were), but my current system mix has me never looking back. That is not to say that vinyl doesn’t have it’s allure but then I do the math and a good not excellent TT all in with tone arm and cart is $7k and then add in the cost of all new vinyl. Money better spend elsewhere or on other audio improvements. Although I, perhaps, won’t close the door on reel to reel with master tapes somewhere down the line.

I think if you have a vinyl collection in good condition that you enjoy, keep it. If you don't own any vinyl or a turntable, it is probably less expensive to get something very good that can come close to or even meet the vinyl sound, depending on the recording, CD (or preferably SACD) manufactured quality or actual resolution of the streams.

Having been in college during prime collecting and music exploring years before CD players were created, naturally I have vinyl. When they stopped making it in the 90's almost completely, I had to get a CD player (very reluctantly), which was quieter from ticks and pops, but lacked the depth and quality sound of vinyl.  Disconnected it about 15 years ago when vinyl production picked up. Now I am getting my favorite CDs on vinyl, so the record companies win again.

I hear with some streaming and SACDs, digital has really improved a lot, but my tastes haven't changed much, and my favorite artists have largely stopped creating anything new I like, or unfortunately kicked the bucket, so it's 100% vinyl (at home) for me. Car is either Sirius or CDs. Changing channels is a pain, so I prefer CDs.

I converted over to digital beginning in 2016. I still have my +/- 400 meticulously maintained LPs from the 70s and 80s, but I sold my beloved Technics SL1800 MkII turntable several years ago. I don't think I will ever buy another one.
My current system is relatively humble and minimalist; everything virtually concealed except for the integrated amp, with the obvious exception of the speakers and subwoofers, the latter which are down-firing and dressed in custom slipcovers because featureless black boxes are boring to look at. Gone are the days of stacks of separates and spinning platters.
There are about 5000 tracks on the NAS plus the streaming function of the player, a hell of a lot more music inventory and resources than I ever imagined I might some day have on hand back in the day.

Bluesound Node2
Synology Diskstation
NAD C368 DAC amplifier
Martin Logan Motion 40i towers on custom plinths
Martin Logan Dynamo 1100X self-powered subwoofers (2) w/ Anthem room correction
246 sq' listening room

Good sounding rig for the money, around $7K CAD.

Don't know, maybe it is just a typo, or something, but vladtheimpala is fricken hilarious. Can't think of another one even nearly as good. Well done, sir!

It has been interesting to watch how our notion of 2-channel system composition has changed over the last few decades. FM tuners have given way to lossless streamers (eg., for TIDAL and Quboz). The outboard phono stage has, in many systems, been replaced by an external DAC. The analog preamp and poweramp are still relevant in high-performance systems, but it will be interesting to see if active speakers will become more popular among audiophiles over the next decade. They are already widely accepted in recording studios and pro-audio, which tends to lead consumer audio by a decade or two. :)

Absolutely a convenience issue for me in using digital sources. DACs are quite good now, whether they're using NOS tech, SS or tube schemes or more advanced oversampling. With attention to the rest of my system in amplification and speaker choices, I get wonderful, detailed and non fatiguing sound even with my 73 year old ears with less fussing around and nearly unlimited music choices.

I was digital only- for the last couple weeks my bearing was being polished. I tried, really tried. But it is just.... digital. Now with the table back, ahhh, once again all is well.

In fairness I must admit, it is real nice being able to just push a button, skip tracks, play with volume, and not have to get up at the end. Those things really are nice. I could  In between all that however is this.... noise. How do you all handle it? Is there a meditation or something? Hypnosis? What is the secret?

Are you missing something truly special by going all digital?

Depends on who you ask!

Everyone hears differently.

There are obviously those who fervently believe analogue sounds superior, period. 

I'm willing to grant that's true. . . when its processed by their ears and brains!  I don't hear it that way, though. 

The bottom line is that the only way you can truly answer the question is by using your own ears. 

+1 here. Streaming only. Spotify via Google Chromecast Audio connect over optical toslink to a motu avb ultralite then onto a integrated tube amp with bookshelves + sub.  As modest as these specs are it sounds amazing (to me). Near ~ mid-field listening. Some day I plan to add a turntable but not in a hurry. I occasionally buy LPs for some of my favorite bands and have to go to a friend's house to listen. Always a good time.  I enjoy sending tunes from my phone and have no interest in ditching Spotify.  Maybe when it goes hires I'll consider a better streamer but it would have to support Spotify Connect.

All digital here. Got my modded out R2R dac, good streaming rates, and a carefully kitted room. No need to change. And I’ve heard vinyl, grew up on vinyl. Not really worth it for me, and I’m not alone. Those who insist we're deficient because of this prove something else entirely.

Again, somebody doesn't know what they are talking about in regards to RTR. RTR has a 3-3/4 speed not 3.5. BTW: I've owned a few 10" RTR 15ips decks and RTR sounds great at 15ips, ok at 7.5, and terrible at 3-3/4 and 1-7/8. Too hard to get tapes and too expensive to join the tape clubs. Sold my nice TT setup and all vinyl over a year ago and haven't regretted it

The digital side is only 192-24. I digitize the analog side.
All the equipment is analog.  Class D is only used for the sub-subs.

with caveat that my system is "mid fi" by many audiophile standards, you can put together a very nice sounding analog rig for a couple thousand, and far far less if you buy pre-owned. whether it meets your sound quality standards is something only you can answer, but in terms of "getting your feet wet" with something decent, imho the gear investment is not as crazy as many make it out to be. buying records to play will be the bigger expense. i know people who primarily stream day to day, but still buy their favorites on vinyl - to me this seems like the wise way to do it

td_dayton.   +1

It is generally accepted that if sound quality and not convenience is your top priority, a well chosen analog rig will achieve higher sound quality at almost any price. This includes rigs in the $100K+ categories. While both analog and digital are both satisfying on my system: $34K analog vs $45 K digital, my analog rig sounds better.

I don’t think I’ll ever be digital only but I sold my turntable years ago (kept records) and my only current analog source is my MD102 tuner 

I was apprehensive about steaming and experimented with FLAC playback and finally bit the bullet and signed up for Tidal first then a few months later I ditched Tidal in favor of Qobuz and I’m glad I did.  Been streaming for 2 years and I use it more than any other medium right now ,even after putting my CDs in my Vault I find myself streaming the hi Rez content of disc I own.  

"In between all that however is this.... noise. How do you all handle it? Is there a meditation or something? Hypnosis? What is the secret?"

Don't think there's any "secret". 

You hear noise. Others of us don't.

Perhaps it has something to do with differences in individual physiological structures and/or auditory processing capacities?

If you don't enjoy digital, don't listen to it! 

If you prefer vanilla ice cream to chocolate ice cream, enjoy your preference. Asserting vanilla is inherently superior isn't likely to convert those who prefer chocolate, though. 

digital can sound superb. depending on your music tastes, it may be your only option for some things! and despite what the self appointed vinyl police might say, imho there are also tons of vinyl reissues sourced from digital that sound great. it isn't always such a cut-and-dry thing. i personally would not hang my hat on one type of source being inherently superior to another - just too many exceptions, too many variables. 

that said i do love vinyl for a whole bunch of reasons and one is that for me it often sounds more "alive" when compared to a digital file of the exact same material. that is my experience. and if the OP wants to try it out for themselves, it's not as cost-prohibitive to get up and running as some would have you believe - so why not give it a shot? just my .02c. happy listening 

So funny anyone who’s been around knows what sounds good. No one technology has the market cornered. But seems everyone has their own personal bias. Why should anyone listen? Audiophiles can’t even agree on what good sound is. It’s all conjecture. Then there is the high end. That’s all over the place too.
Oh well we all know good sound when we hear it. It’s just a matter of what we chose and how much to invest to make it happen. However it manages to happen.
Good listening all.

i remember i listened to a podcast recently where the guys (professional gear reviewers) were talking about how entry level turntables used to be better quality sound than entry level dacs and how that's no longer the case. their view was that in order to get top performance, clearly better than digital out of a turntable setup you need to spend $5k or something. perfectly valid opinion - these guys have probably forgotten about more equipment than i'll ever see - but i personally don't think that's true. there are a lot of younger people who've invested in a turntable setup to complement their spotify etc and clearly enjoy it - that's why there's so many new records now! whether it sounds "better" or "worse" is the listener's business, but i am personally an advocate for trying it out for oneself and then deciding. 

and a lot of people on this thread have already done exactly this, and decided to go digital. does a vinyl lover know more than them? are they more "connected" to the music? i doubt it. in my opinion the delivery system will never be more important than the music itself. people figure out what works best for them. it's all good. all i'm saying is it's not a big deal to give records a shot - you may love it. and if you don't, you'll know for sure. 

Went all digital in 1988 started with Sony CDP707esd player, Perreaux  2150 amplifier,
Infinity KS9 Speakers, and Audio Alchemy DTi Pro DAC.
Now I still use Sony CDP707esd, Aragon 8008BB amp, Martin Logan Theos Speakers, Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC, and Mac Book Pro,

My turntable is in the basement with a few hundred albums.  Same thing with my cassette deck and cassettes.  Though I love the sound of analog playback, I don’t have physical space for redundant playback systems.  the back of my mind, I intend to transfer the analog music to a hard drive.  But as digital quality and convenience improve, I have less need to do so.

I'm still playing CDs and SACD discs because I have a couple thousand and my Ayre does a great job with them.

I supplement that with a Lumin streamer and Quboz.

All digital here, too.  Moved to a HiFiBerry DAC2 HD (started with their +PRO) and running ROON on my NAS with FLAC files.  Not looking back.

Kind of amazed and pleased at the positive response to digital.  I‘m now 95% digital, hi-res. (A stroke a couple of years ago made this a necessity.)  having many of my albums also in high res I really don't hear a difference in a/b testing, possibly in higher end systems may not be true. But thought this group would more analog and digital, though maybe is.

Innous Zen Mk3 (Roon core), Schiit Yggdrasil, Pass Labs INT-25, Klipsch Forte III,

Schiit Mani, Rega P3, also Schiit Vali2+, Grado Gs3000s

I have been all digital for over 20 years.  The reason: my laziness > the nice warmth of analog.  Since my initial switch to CD's the servers had made this that much more attractive.  I currently use a Melco (via ethernet, UPnP) into a dCS Bartok.  I'm very happy with it - for now.  

Been all digital for a very long time using Popcorn Hour media tanks. Using Node 2i and Amazon High Res & Apple Lossless these days. Nothing but. 

I'm also digital only.. I'd suggest adding an Mscaler to your Qutest.. Or go to a Hugo TT2    I have a Qutest and Mscaler.. Big improvement with Mscaler. I'm saving up my pennies for Hugo TT2 in a couple of months. I did Mscaler first because it's a bit less $$ and I'll sell Qutest to help pay for TT2..  I think at that point I'll be good.

I have one friend who only plays CDs for the last 12 years but who owns 10,000 LPs.  Another plays only his own 3,000 CDs through an EAC extracted thumb drive.   Four other friends are like me with a mix of LPs and CDs.  None of us stream.  We are all over 55 years old.  One acquaintance is vinyl only with 10,000 LPs.  I also have 7,000 78s to go with my 28,500 LPs and 7,000 CDs.  Another acquaintance is also LP only and is the owner of Better Records.

@fleschler 

Wow, you are a true collector. Amazing collection. 

Me too:

My system, with all digital sources, has a P15 power regenerator, DirectStream CD/SACD disk transport & DirectStream DAC from PS Audio, a Roon Nucleus Plus streaming server controlled from my iPad & Android smart phone, a Dell Windows10 Pro machine for iTunes, McIntosh C2500 tube pre-amp, McIntosh MC452 solid state power amp, driving a pair of Focal Sopra No2 speakers, and a pair of JL Audio F113V2 sub woofers, Sennheiser HD800 headphones, all connections with Wireworld cabling.

@td_dayton:

Thanks for your refreshingly open-minded comments!

Best,

Stuart 

... these, in particular::

"  i personally would not hang my hat on one type of source being inherently superior to another - just too many exceptions, too many variables"

... especially given that the ears/brains taking in what the source is putting out vary in terms of how they perceive sound and what they judge to be pleasurable/"good"...

stuartk403 posts06-29-2021 6:10pm... these, in particular::

"  i personally would not hang my hat on one type of source being inherently superior to another - just too many exceptions, too many variables"

... especially given that the ears/brains taking in what the source is putting out vary in terms of how they perceive sound and what they judge to be pleasurable/"good"...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes I agree, 
I have a  completed classical cd collection of 300-400 cds,  and have no interest in streaming.
I am tube cd player for life, 
Just took advantage of the newest opamps, JFET's , 4 duals for my Jadis  DAC, made a  very nice sonic gain.
Recently I added a  Philips 777 phone, bought from my tech geek at a  good  price, so  I added some classiacl LP's  of my fav works,  Ohh about 50+ LP.s 
You can find them cheap, = under $20 each, on Ebay and a  few off amazon. 
Some are extremely rare, piad $20++.
I prefer cd, as it contains 50-80 minutes of music, with no flipping the cd over. Yeah I'm a bit lazy.
Expensive phono's may  offer superior sonics vs my DAC/high tech opamps, but at what cost?
And nuances, how much greater?
I'd rather put my audio budget into new high tech speakers. The new wide band, now my system will be 100% complete. 
I am  trying to sell a  tube cd player, my tech geek said it  will be a very hard sell at my asking price, He was correct, I am lowering the price now to *rock bottom*. Tube cd players are dinasuars.
Everyone is going streaming.
Back in the day my Cayin was the bomb. 
Amazing how  The latest thing, shoves the old thing down to the dust, lol
I am old school, I needa  physical source record in my hand, LP, cd. 
Streaming is just too impresonal. 
Besides are there steaming services which have every one of my cds/LP's  in their file??
Most likely not. 
Pettersson sym 9, Kamu/Norropking,/Philips LP. I also have a  ripped  cd. 
This recording , among a  few others, is not found on any stream service 
New is not always better. 

@yermajesty:

"@stuartk, You wrote {You hear noise. Others of us don’t.
Perhaps it has something to do with differences in individual physiological structures and/or auditory
processing capacities?}

All sensory data is filtered through the brain. In sound, the filtering process is

known as “psychoacoustics”. This process allows a participant in a conversation taking place in a noisy environment—ie: a busy restaurant—to filter everything but their own conversation out of their perceptions. The same is true of our perceptions of the audible clicks and pops that SOMETIMES plague vinyl recordings".

I wasn't thinking about clicks and pops but of what I often hear vinyl fans say: that vinyl sounds more "organic" and digital sounds "harsh". 

As for your comment: 

"Here’s to great music, regardless of your choice of playback technologies!"

I can't argue with that !!!!!!!!!

@mozartfan:

"I am tube cd player for life"

Although I now use a Moon transport coupled with an r2r Aqua DAC, I had a Jolida JD100 for many years and very much enjoyed it

@stuartk. You wrote: {I wasn't thinking about clicks and pops but of what I often hear vinyl fans say: that vinyl sounds more "organic" and digital sounds "harsh"}

In my experience, digital did sound harsh . . . in the early days of CDs. And to me, vinyl has always sounded more natural than digital does. But that has changed dramatically over the past two decades. I owned a REGA Planet 2000 that applied internal oversampling with IIRC Wolfson DACs. And that made a profound difference in my digital listening experience with the equipment I was using at the time--an Anthem tube preamp, an Anthem hybrid power amp, Red Rose bookshelf speakers, and a 15" Paradigm powered subwoofer. I also had a REGA Planer 3 turntable and Dynavector Ruby cartridge that were at the time, twenty years old. I took my vinyl setup to my local high-end dealer, Audio Alternative in Fort Collins, Colorado to have Rick Dupliseo align everything and replace the drive belt. However, I never broke out my modest vinyl collection to play it on that system.

It unfortunately ended up staying with my ex; and I spent the years after we parted ways with a Marantz surround sound receiver and thirty-year-old Celestion SL 6 bookshelf speakers, primarily for movie playback. (I sort of lost interest in music after going solo).

But last Christmas, I decided to spend some extra scratch that came available to me on a pair of Martin Logan virtual line-source EM-ESLs (ML's smallest electrostats) and an ML 8" Dynamo powered subwoofer--the sort of speaker technology I'd dreamtof owning for forty years. My only music sources were digital--a Sony UBP X1000ES SACD player and an Apple TV. Everything sounded wonderful until early February, when my receiver's power amp section began to fail. So I went back to Rick, looking for a Black Ice tube integrated. It turned out that he had just taken in an F35 on consignment; and I hauled that 60 pound behemoth home. The music sounded even better than before. Plus I had supplemental heating in my cold apartment. Two months later, the preamp section in my receiver crapped out. So I looked for a premium (by my standards) quality two-channel preamp with a comprehensive DAC section. I ended up choosing an Anthem STR pre, in large part because its built-in ARC system was a huge draw for me. Now everything sounded terrific. Plus, I had discovered the great folks at Crutchfield Electronics

But at the time I bought my Back Ice, Rick asked me if I'd like to hear a Linn LP12 with an Akito 3B tonearm. He set it up with a Hana Sl MC cartridge that sounded nice. So I took it home. But before I left his shop, he played a severely warped vinyl album on a maxed out LP12, with Lyre's top dog MC cartridge through a $200,000+ system. The soundstage presentation was as close to live as I've ever heard; and the cartridge's extreme frequency response combined the with system's otherworldly imaging evoked long-dormant emotions I'd never fully processed.

Perhaps naively, thinking that I could obtain similar results at home, I tinkered a bit with platter mats, VTA and my preamp's ARC utility. But I couldn't get anywhere close to what I'd heard at the store. So I went back to talk cartridges with Rick; and he told me that the Linn Krystal MC would probably generate some of the same excitement I'd experienced listening to his maxed out system. And when he demoed the cartridge, I had to agree. When I got the new setup home, I discovered that my electronics and speakers approximated the sound of his $300,000 system; but without the sheer volume capability his system possessed. And that's fine because I live in a small apartment where high-volume listening could get me quickly evicted.

At about the same time, I subscribed to Amazon's curated HD digital music streaming service, and listened to that through my preamp's DAC. And much to my surprise, it didn't miss the SQ of my Linn analogue setup by very much. Nevertheless, the SQ improvement with the Linn is more than worth the cost of admission to me (~$6K). But as I'm sitting at my desk, I'm listening to Max Richter via Amazon HD digital; and enjoying it every bit as much as I would my Linn system at any area of my apartment but my listening room.

Short story; I would be loathe to give up either playback technology in my system. But I do plan to further upgrade my turntable down the road as finances permit, if only  for the sheer intensity of my emotional responses to analogue music playback. As I mentioned earlier, I also enjoy all the rituals that go with responsible vinyl playback. �And some of my vinyl collection is irreplaceable in any format.

That's my story; and I'm sticking to it . . . that is until the SQ of streaming digital technology transcends what I get from my analogue system. That might happen next year; and it might not happen for another ten. But I have every reason to keep an open mind; and I'll be ready to make the move to nearly all digital when that time comes (if I'm not dead yet).

Again. Here's to great music, regardless of which technology is used to play it back!

(Yeah. This long post wore me out too:-)

ps. Here's a gimme from an older than dirt audiophile: You won't notice the improved SQ of a sound system that's better than you're used to nearly as much as you'll notice the diminished SQ of a system that's worse than what you're used to.  I shudder to think of ever having to listen to my first generation Hitachi CD player again.

I have system in my finished basement that is digital only. It consists of Promitheous TVC pre,April Music stello DA100 signature DAC,a Node 2,a Decware Z stage,a First Watt J2,driving a pair of Nola Boxer 2's. Sounds great to these ears. I can literally listen for hours without so much of a hint of fatigue. 

100% digital 20 years ago. Now going Qobuz HiRes streaming.

@yermajesty:

"In my experience, digital did sound harsh . . . in the early days of CDs." 

Yeah; my first Sony CDP in the early 90's sounded terribly metallic and shrill. I  switched to a Denon, which was definitely better but nothing like my current Moon transport + Aqua DAC combo.

"And to me, vinyl has always sounded more natural than digital does."

Well, OK.  Each to his/her own. You're certainly not alone in this regard. Vinyl does indeed sound different to me than CD but on good systems, I have no preference. I hear nothing that impels me to seize upon vinyl as a "benchmark". Perhaps I simply haven'y yet heard a sufficiently costly  vinyl system but I have friends with systems costing at least 50K and to my ears their vinyl systems are not superior to my 25K digital system. Others would no doubt reach a different conclusion.    

I'd agree that it's far easier to assemble a fatiguing-sounding digital system. When I decided to move from a CDP to a separate DAC and transport and began demo'ing DACs, I was astonished by the differences.
Some were so resolving that to me, all sense of the "forest" was lost, due to the severe overaccentuation of focus upon the "trees". I could not imagine how anyone could possibly enjoy such an "unnatural" presentation. Nevertheless, I found it helpful in my selection process to hear DACs on both ends of the spectrum.

This process led me to conclude that it's more important to know what one's preferences are as a listener, when going digital, as opposed to   vinyl.  And such knowledge can only come from experience, so perhaps it makes sense for beginners ought to start out with vinyl. 

@stuartk, Great points all. I plan to see Rick about a first-rate digital streaming device next month . . . maybe even before I add a "Keel" to my LP12. What's your recommendation for a current digital streaming device?

Thank you.

decided to move from a CDP to a separate DAC and transport and began demo'ing DACs, I was astonished by the differences.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found out my 
cayin CD17 6922 tube player , very close to 
my Shanling 3000 6922 tube player
and the Jadis DAC Entry model(Shanling as Transport)  just a  tad superior to the Shanling DAC .
All 3 are  well crafted and all 3 sound excellent.
What did make a gain in the Jadis DAC are 4 new high teck JFET opamps, 4 duals. 
My Philips phono sounds  only a  miniscule superior to a  tube DAC which has these JFET's  in the opamp slots. 
IOW these new opamps have really made nice gains in tube DAC's/players.