How many of you are digital only systems?

I went all digital playback about seven years ago

I sold all my analog stuff a few months ago, went all digital and I have been very happy with that move.  

I am all digital , have been since the 90's and haven't looked back. My friend is all analogue with a fortune in equipment but I know which one I prefer.

I've been all digital for quite some time since my old techniques tt died.I miss listening to vinyl but not the time and effort and $ spent.It's easier, and to me anyway makes more sense to put my $ towards digital. That said, if I won the lottery I would also have an analog setup;)

@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.

All digital since the 90’s.
About 15 yrs ago bought a used pro-ject turntable with the intention of rekindling the nostalgia of vinyl.
It has never been out of the box.

LOL!

All digital since the 90’s.
About 15 yrs ago bought a used pro-ject turntable with the intention of rekindling the nostalgia of vinyl.
It has never been out of the box.

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.

All digital.  Fell for the analog blather and when I stopped to listen without being harangued about the joys of vinyl, sold it off to pay for a nice streamer

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.  

Only my front end is digital (CDs) everything else in the chain is analog. 

100% streaming. I had a few turntables and did the analog thing for years. Too much hassle for me anymore.

I am 100%  digital.
Lumin X1 for streaming. 
Playing records is another world.  There is a ritual. I miss that.

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.

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.

I will probably never dump vinyl mainly because I have too many records in my library already that I still go to. Been that way since digital came out back in the 80s. I bought a better turntable then (Linn Axis, still running) to preserve my investment-to-date in vinyl.

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 an entirely aesthetic decision.

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 !


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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.

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.

All digital for over a year now and am very happy with the decision.

Everything major but the 8-track wore out 5 years ago.
I do listen to 95% digital.

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 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 why God made 10.5" RTR, and 3.5ips.

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

Good analogy @gdnrbob.  I agree.  100% digital here.  

No. I enjoy all media formats: CD/DVD/BluRay, Vinyl (my favorite) and streaming digital 

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. 

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 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.

"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 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! 

...and using video tape to record audio only....an odd option that actually worked for a time, once upon....*S*

I'm still waiting for digital amplifiers and speakers.

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 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. 

@audioman58 -- good point about using tubes in the digital chain. In my system, adding a tube integrated pretty much took care of the digital harshness or glare that would creep up in some music. I'm seriously thinking of replacing my favorite SS amp (Luxman 590 AXII) with a tube integrated.

I am still happy straddling the fence with feet firmly planted in both camps.I currently don’t see any good reason to take a stand one way or the other.

I enjoy the flexibility of having both. 

CD for me. 

I just got back into hifi and just digital so far. I’m on the cusp of getting a tt to measure the progress of my newly acquired digital system. I can’t even remember the last time I even heard a record played. All my records from the 70s were ruined and discarded years ago. Some of my well heeled golf buddies (with deeper pockets than me!) say that they have both digital and analog and they’re both good. Which system they go to depends upon the music selection, their mood or if they are entertaining. Another mood decision is tube vs solid state which, again, they have both!

   Digital vs analog or both. I have both and appreciate the qualities of each. The convenience of digital is certainly a big plus. However, each media is at the mercy of the quality of the recording. Both have excellent and lousy results.
   Analog (vinyl) requires serious commitment. Equipment, media, setup, etc .And, factors such as record cleaning and storage. If you don't already have a large collection of your favorite music then acquiring some of them may be expensive.
   Whatever fits your preference is right for you. Just from my own experience....the same recordings of the best quality.....the vinyl will win out every time. 

   

Once had close to a thousand LP’s, still have around 700. Haven’t touched them since I got my Yggdrasil, it really is that much better (Ariston RD11S, Grace 707, Benz Ace).

 As a photographer ask yourself would you go back to 35mm or Medium format film?  Unless you're doing something special - I bet the answer is no. 

Experiment for yourself, get a friend with a Record player with music you like and compare them to your streaming DAC.  Assuming the recordings are but of good quality, you will be hard-pressed to add analog to your system.  

I play FLAC and also SACD dsf files on my DAC,  and they have a fuller bass range than records,  a lot less expensive to buy, maintain, etc. 

 

I abandoned vinyl for digital thirty nine years ago. I never missed vinyl intil I bought a combination of speakers, pre-amp, and power amp that could exploit the extended frequeny response that can be extracted from vinyl by a superb MC cartridge and turntable. I’ve always been an imaging freak.But I din’t know what I was missing with digial until I heard a system similar to mine playing vinyl.

I’ve found two-channel SACDs and streaming HD digital don’t miss my analogue benchmark by a lot. But the difference is more than worth the cost of admission to me.

That said, I only listen to vinyl when I’m fully involved in the heavenly analogue listening experience. Otherwise, I spare the life of my expensive cartridge by listening to streaming digital with my pups.

IOW, both have an honored place in my system and in my enjoyment of music. The only downside to my audiophilic proclivities is an occasional, “Why the hell would anyone spend $6,000 to spin vinyl?” from one of unfortunate earthbound friends.

Digital- CD and SACD for me.

Happy Listening!

“Am I missing something truly special in the audio world if I’m all digital?”

Not at all as long as you’re streaming. Anything else, you’re limiting yourself by the number of physical media, Vinyl or CD’s you own. I would divert funds into upgrading your DAC instead of starting with mediocre analog rig. A good analog rig needs atleast $5-$7K investment plus the ongoing cost of vinyl. 

Hello jmphotography,

     I was originally all analog but have been all digital since college days about 1980.  My Technics turntable with a Shure cartridge, along with my entire album collection, were stolen around that time during an apartment break-in.
     I figured it was a good time to switch to the new CD playback format and start enjoying "perfect sound forever". Of course, we all quickly discovered this marketing slogan wasn’t completely accurate since digital CD recordings and playback had its own set of pros and cons. Yes, it had a much lower noise floor which resulted in better perceived detail, the frequency range seemed more extended especially at the low end of the spectrum, the dynamics seemed more powerful and playback was more convenient. On the con side, however, early digital CD sounded more sterile, less warm and smooth and brighter than vinyl playback on the higher treble frequencies.
But I also believe digital CD technology and sound quality performance has improved at a faster pace than vinyl since the introduction of CDs.
     My current opinion is that you can attain exceptionally high sound quality utilizing either format but it’ll generally cost less going the digital route and it will be significantly more convenient as well, similar to an extremely high quality juke box when done correctly.
     I have a combination digital music and HT system. I use an Oppo 205 Blu-ray/universal disc player for video and 5.1 surround sound for HT and a 2 TB Synology hard drive and Lumin D2 streamer/dac for digital 2-ch music.
     But I also never really enjoyed the whole vinyl playback ritual as I know many do and you might. The primary reasons I chose to go completely digital were the current high quality of digital recordings, especially hi-res direct to digital recordings, the much improved quality of current digital playback equipment and the easily achievable next level of operational convenience inherent in its use.

Best of whishes,
Tim

80% digital growing to 100% since the acquisition of the Grimm MU1 streamer and the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC. This combo is the first to have me completely fulfilled on the digital experience (a significant step up from Lumin & Denafrips gear)

100% digital. Recently found out that Apple lossless sounds as good as Tidal on my system and for half the price. Now, I can listen to 70 million songs. Problem is, I don't like 69.9 million of them. :-)  But who is counting?

Digital only sources here.

If I had money (and space) I’d consider to add a reel to reel player, though. It’s a fascinating machine.

Nothing against analog. I’d like open reel tapes had the same success as vinyls are having now to make them a little more "affordable" and to see new tape productions grow.

I go through the same mental exercise once in a while wondering how much it would cost to equal my digital setup with analog. Then I remember how distracting I personally find the clicks and pops from vinyl, and that no matter how transcendent analog can be, I probably still wouldn’t be able to enjoy it.
You might look at some of the next tier R2R DACs or maybe an M-Scalar. As much as I love my Qutest I know it can be bettered or improved. As hard as it might be for some to accept, I don’t think analog is for everyone.

After my streaming setup way surpassed the sound quality of my Mobile Fidelity Ultradeck and Goldnote PH10/PSU10 combo, I sold it all. A faff not needed.