2. analog
  3. 194290-5063

How much do I need to spend to make vinyl sound better than digital?

All,

I have a solid vinyl setup that I like to think of as entry-level “plus:” Project Debut Pro with Sumiko Moonstone cartridge.  I enjoy vinyl for the ritual but find that my digital gear - a $400 ifi streamer and the AKM DAC built into my Anthem preamp - beats the analog rig in most ways.  Far better imaging/soundstage and much tighter bass without the occasional distortion/sibilance/warbling of the vinyl rig.  I haven’t messed with cartridge setup other than to check the factory-performed alignment, which looks perfect.  The table is perfectly balanced, counterweight set correctly with an electronic scale, etc - so I have no reason to think there’s a setup problem.  
 

Is this par for the course for this level of vinyl gear?  What do I need to spend to get my vinyl gear to match the performance of decent digital?  I’m thinking of upgrading to a Clearaudio Concept, perhaps with a Hana SL cartridge, but I want to make sure doing that is going to deliver a fundamentally different experience than what I have right now with the Project/Sumiko combination.

 

No interest in flame wars or rehashing the vinyl/digital debate.  I know vinyl can sound wonderful and am simply trying to decide whether I can afford the price of entry for a system that can gets the basics right (no audible distortion/sibilance, decent imaging).  I thought the Project/Sumiko would have gotten me there, but for whatever reason it hasn’t fit the bill.Thanks for any insights. 

lousyreeds1

Showing 4 responses by dwette

dwette
295 posts
 

ONE. MILLION. DOLLARS.

Seriously though. Despite what @ntpc4 claims (and baseless generalizations like that suck anyway), my $60K analog front end still completely smokes my $16K network streamer every day of the week. It’s not even close. :)

Vinyl sounds so good on my system I rarely even bother with digital, unless I want to audition some music I might buy on vinyl, or I want to play music that was recorded digitally in the first place. Vinyl for me is just about always more satisfying for listening to music. But I've been doing it for a long time, and have some 5000+ LPs.

dwette
295 posts
 

@zx10 

Vinyl can never sound like SACD on a good player

I agree completely. SACD is so underwhelming on my system I never bothered to buy a player, and am glad I saved the money on hardware and software. It definitely wasn't any better than the streamer I had at the time (which I have since upgraded to better). I'm glad vinyl doesn't sound like SACD. That would be most disappointing.

dwette
295 posts
 

@inna

Phono stage should cost two or better three times more than the cartridge

Oh snap!!! Now I need to buy a $45K phono stage, just after I bought a decent one for less...or is that a $90K phono-stage? I have two Lyra Atlas. I guess my analog front end must be crap now. Please advise. I guess my system all of a sudden sounds like I’m playing a Crosley reading this revelation, and I never realized it. frown

Jeez. What is it with all these B.S. generalizations? Where do people get this stuff? What’s the evidence for it?

Getting analog [vinyl] right is about achieving good balance, but there is no cut and dry formula for everything, or anything really. It depends on many things, and varies so much as one traverses different ranges. There are so many different ways to build a balanced setup at different price points, and what works well for one point doesn’t necessarily apply to everything else. That’s why there is just as much art as science to it all.

dwette
295 posts
 

It's not primarily budget.  Sure you can't build it out of soup cans and wire, but good sound is more about knowledge and effort and not $$$.

But once you obtain the knowledge you've gotten too smart for your own good, and the $$$ comes into play in a bigger way. :)

More to discover