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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 mulveling

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,157 posts
 

These results are inevitably some combination of: 

  • You might simply prefer the tyically "clean" sound of digital
  • The kind of music material you enjoy has generally good mastering quality on digital; at level with or better than the vinyl alternatives
    • I enjoy a lot of 60 - 80s pop & rock - and this material fares much better on vinyl, IMO (on average)
    • Some of the 1990s+ Redbook CDs I have from Japan sound just as good as vinyl
  • Poor isolation. A good headphone setup can reveal if that’s the problem or not!
  • Your analog rig might not be that great. It could be one weak link in the chain, multiple pieces, or a bad match between anything. That said, if the above factors don’t swing you to vinyl, then there’s little point in spending gobs of time & money to improve your vinyl chain. 
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