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 1 response by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
7,666 posts
 

Typically, these days you can equal things by carefully choosing and investing about the same amount as your analog rig. For me my digital and analog sound simply stunning and the same... as I desired. You can see my systems under my userID.

For systems that are more budget oriented, sometimes you may need to spend a little more on digital... say maybe up to 20%. But this is changing rapidly. 

So roughly: Turntable + Phonostage = Streamer + DAC. 

You have to put the same effort you would into choosing a TT, cartridge and phonostage into the Streamer and DAC. My rough rule of thumb for a digital system is 30% speakers, 15% amp, 15% preamp, 15% DAC, and 15% streamer, 10% cables and interconnects. Really generally. Same for analog 15% TT and 15% phonostage. 

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