CD for me.
How many of you are digital only systems?
I currently have an all digital setup, streaming and stored digital files and ripped CD’s on my Innuos Zen mkIII via Chord Qutest to a PrimaLuna EVO 400i. I have been contemplating adding analog to my system, like a Clearaudio concept table. I am NOT hear to debate which one is better, so please don’t turn it into that, I understand the differences. How many of you are digital only? If you listen to digital as well, please tell me why. Is it because of sonic qualities or just the nostalgic reasons of spinning vinyl. I just don’t know if I want a turntable because it would be new gear to play with or if I think it has sonic qualities that I am missing with digital. I would have to buy new vinyl as I really only have a few of my albums from when I was teenager in the 80’s. Maybe I should just put the money towards upgrading digital components, even though I love my Qutest/Zen combo, I could move up in their line?? Am I missing something truly special in the audio world if I’m all digital? Thanks for your thoughts
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i have one transcription system with analog inputs, so i can digitize tapes and phonographic disc media. it has CEDAR modules for removing impulsive disturbances. my listening system is nominally digital in that i don't directly listen to analog tape and discs. my FM reception is via hybrid digital or HD radio. |
I am 100% digital, I have moved my vinyl and TT all over the US since the 90s, but finally sold the TT this year. I am almost 100% streaming although I still have my Wadia 16 CD player acting as a transport. In response to the OP's comment on upgrading their digital, I have been in a race trying to get the SQ I want out of digital. In two years I have gone from an entry Naim streamer to a dCS Bartok, and now a dCS Vivaldi short stack. I would suggest you move up in the digital line rather than dilute your funds into a different media. In my experience as you move up the digital product line you get more of the sound we crave. It is still stupid expensive to get SQ out of digital, but the digital sound from my system is very satisfying. I am also listening to so many more artists and types of music due to the ease of use of the streamer. Although only a tiny portion of the $23 a month I pay to Qobuz does go to the musicians, I feel good that I am making some contribution to the music industry. |
I was an advocate of analog until recently. Now everything gets pumped into my Hegel via Spotify directly from my router and I use my i phone as a remote. I'm looking forward to the launch of Spotify "hi-fi", however it meets my sound requirements for now. Neat and clean. The Hegel is a fantastic unit, I'll never go back! |
"Digital only since the '90's, when in the course of some heavy petting with a lovely woman, the record ended and needed to be flipped! So I made a totally aesthetic decision." I was in a very similar situation although I was way past the petting stage and she wasn't all that lovely, which made my decision easy and I've never looked back. I got rid of her. |
I have brushed and flipped more vinyl than many of the vinyl fanatics (I’m old), but I don’t do it anymore. I still have my turntable and vinyl but I haven’t played a vinyl record in a long time. My digital sounds great and I can stream so much music that I would never listen to if I had to buy a record to see if it was something I like. The endless amount of new music that streaming offers seals the deal for me. I’m all digital, including CD and SACD. |
I have been all Digital before it was superior to analog ,by using Vacuum tubes in the chain ,Jitter was the big thing back then. turntables to many are still good and nostalgia ,to me a pain in the Ass. With SS drives and Femto clocks and big power supplies Good digital even. At $2k can beat a turn table at $5k. analog is warmer then some .I have had digital from Meitner that was $7k 5 years ago ,and all the hot brands from Schiit ,Yaggs densfrips Pontus, ,Venus all very good Holo springs also I recently bought a excellent dac Nobody in the U.S has any experience with AudioGD their latest lower priced $2k dac the R8 MK2 is a excellent R2R dac with 7 true Audio choices including a non over sampling Vinyl mode That is warm but a bit soft great for older cooler recordings for example or oversampling with more detail and slam.it is still new but real potential and at over 25 lbs the Big power supplies give it incredibly good deep Bass and dynamic control something vinyl cannot do as well and much more more quiet. streaming just getting into that Melco N10 a great streamer with QObuz,and Roon everything run from your iPad is possible there’s just so much more possible ,even digital is firmware upgradable ,I will buy a reference digital piece, but for the moment very happy with its naturalness and musicality . my brother recently purchased a $35k DCS Rossini dac which is waay out of my league but it is incredible , if you have a $$ 6figure digital audio system you can hear everything in the recording like you are there ,most audio systems miss.the sky’s the limit in Audio !! |
I sat on the fence for many years….until a friend asked me, “if I was still dragging a rock over a piece plastic” I had never heard that expression before and it really hit home how archaic records are…..so I went all in last week and bought a $11k Meitner ma3. Best thing I ever did, so crisp and clean. |
Digital for me, as well. High rez formats are good enough for me. Plus the fact that I don't have to get up every 30 minutes or so to change the record. Digital is in it's infancy. And, I think, like in photography, digital will mature to the point that it surpasses analog. And, if you are an analog die hard, then there will be plug ins that mimic your favorite cartridge- just like there are plug ins that mimic various film characteristics. B |
I got into the hobby about 10 years ago. I had a CD collection and nary a record. So instead of splitting my budget I went all-digital. The best playback I have ever heard was at @mikelavigne's house, and it was vinyl. But that's a rather different league from the one in which I can yet play. I get the value of physical media. I love vinyl. But for my priorities and possibilities, digital is the way. |
Digital in both of my systems . I added a Clearaudio tt , and a phono stage to my main system a few years ago and enjoyed the sound; the problem for me is that there aren't enough releases on vinyl for the genre and artists I mostly enjoy so I pulled them out and they sit on an unused rack in the room where my 2nd system resides. |
nglazer770 posts06-22-2021 4:24pmDigital only since the ’90’s, when in the course of some heavy petting with a lovely woman, the record ended and needed to be flipped! So I made an entirely aesthetic decision. This is very funny! You gave me a good chuckle ! ------------------------- Digital only here, after a brief, failed experiment a few years ago with analog, when I realized: 1) too much work and effort to have analog, plus the cost of records, plus storage of records 2) I had to spend a lot of money on analog to match (and probably exceed) the sound on my digital rig. But again, as mentioned above, there is no right or wrong answer on this one. |
No vinyl here. I seriously considered adding a turntable, but decided it wasn't worth the additional hassle and expense. I've tinkered with a Raspberry Pi as a streamer (great for playing YouTube music from my phone over the stereo) and built some monoblock tube amps from a kit. Maybe doing something like that will scratch the itch. |
BEl Canto c5i in my second system is all digital. Inputs include analog phono, FM tuner and a variety of others. In my main system, I covert all records to digital on my music server when played and stream them from there moving forward. If I could magically convert my entire vintage record collection properly to digital I would. The sound quality difference between good digital and good analog these days is a total wash. If its not, then one or the other or both in the system are subpar. |
Fiirst off, there are no wrong answers here. If you like dealing with physical media, or the sound of vinyl, or collecting album covers, whom am I or anyone else to judge. But as for me ... with the exception of an AM/FM tuner I have been all digital since packing up my turntable in 1996. I was an early adopter of CDs back in the 80's. Prior to that, my primary need for a turntable was to transfer vinyl albums over to reel to reel tape for home listening or to cassettes for the car. I never liked having to turn over an album to listen to the other side, and the maintenance required with vinyl. But that is just me. Moved over to streaming in 2014 and now my Bryston CD player is more or less a paper weight. Been doing Roon the last couple of years and and couldn't be happier. |
LOL! All digital since the 90’s.Sounds like something I would do. If I came into a big pile of dough, I *might* get a turntable for a 2nd setup (maybe with an LTA integrated amp and some sensitive speakers like Fleetwoods). Or not. I’d have a tech to set it up and do regular checkups, because fiddling bores me. I haven’t had a turntable since the late 90s. Roon has ruined (rooned?) me. The convenience of streaming 50 million tracks is awesome. I’ve ripped all of my 600+ CDs and stored them on my Roon server, and it’s all at my fingertips. You can pry it out of my cold dead hands. |
@jmphotography -- I’m in the same boat as you are. I never seriously got into vinyl to begin with. I did have a collection of about 500-600 CDs that I unfortunately lost during a move. Since then my CD player died a few years ago and I never bothered to get a new one. So it’s 100% digital/streaming for me now. Lately, I am getting the itch to try out vinyl but not sure if it’s worth the extra cost and hassle. Based on my research, there is no point in getting into analog until you are willing to spend at least $5-7k if not more for it to truly make a difference. Then I figure I have to spend probably a few thousand dollars to get a decent vinyl collection going. Eventually I’m going to build an analog rig, but for now I’ve decided to continue to improve the digital chain, i.e. buy a more expensive streamer (Wolf Audio, Lumin U1), better DAC, better power supplies for my router, switch, Roon core, etc. |