2. analog
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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
pwerahera
132 posts
 

Have you compared same recording on vinyl and digital? For example, have you tried Miles Davis Kind of Blue album on your rig against digital playback of the same? Another example, Dave Brubeck's Timeout album. My CD is HDCD encoded and no need to say it has better bass than analog version.

It is difficult to answer your question when you say digital has "Far better imaging/soundstage and much tighter bass." Digital has more bass compared to analog counterpart. So first let us know specific albums that you compared on vinyl and digital that gave you above impression.

noromance's avatar
noromance
10,062 posts
 

+1 @inagroove 
I like digital and all that, but my vinyl systems sound better on good recordings. Yes, there are disappointing recordings and bad vinyl. I prefer older near mint used records. Ultrasonic cleaning helps. Spotless stylus is mandatory. Remastered digital records sound greyer (digital hash) to me than older analog records. I guess it depends on what you listen to. That said, if you do want to upgrade your entry-level turntable, especially as you’ve pointed out "warbling", a Technics direct drive unit like the new Technics SL-1300G may suffice. Tube phono preamp may help. Don't be afraid of MM cartridges--removing the whole MC end can improve sound.

willy-t
170 posts
 

In this game it’s all dependent on your budget 

As you know the sky is the limit but your budget probably isnt

I would say $3k table

$1500 cart

$2k phono pre

would get you in a pretty good place 

Then you can begin to get into cables and isolation to get the best out of the components

Good

luck.  Willy-T

facten
2,942 posts
 

@lousyreeds1  - You mentioned your TT and cart but didn't mention what phono preamp you are using. Is it a separate , if so what? If not, might the cause of your issue be the phono stage included in your preamp? Also, what cables are you using from the TT to the phono preamp/stage?

 
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano
2,755 posts
 

When I first started the quest to make my analog sound as good (or better) than my digital I bought a very good phono amplifier (Sutherland).  It made a big difference but not quite as good as digital.  Then got a new turntable (Dr. Feikert) and arm. Finally, I got a new cartridge (started with Hana then Clearaudio.)  A total expense of about $8000. The results are wonderful.

You don’t have to spend that much, but I would start with a new phono amplifier like I did and build from there.

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