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 inna

inna
7,923 posts
 

Phono stage is extremely important.

Some Japanese CDs do sound relatively good, and my old CEC TL5100Z player is not too bad, but vinyl always sounds better with Nottingham table, often much better.

 

inna
7,923 posts
 

Phono stage should cost two or better three times more than the cartridge. This means $1500 phono stage for $500 cartridge, if my math is correct. And with tube phono stage tubes matter a lot as well, of course. It is hard to see a good analogue set up for less than, say, $5k new.

inna
7,923 posts
 

Such an emotional response from you two. What if I am right on both counts ? Think about it.

inna
7,923 posts
 

Phone will still work in most cases, just disengage the wi-fi. The sound won't be too good, though.

$1k phono stage will sound better than $12k phono stage only if the latter is not turned on. The other theoretical possibility is that $12k price tag is a joke and reflects nothing. Could be, though I haven't heard of such extremes.

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