How much do you need to spend to get digital to rival analog?

ask Andreas about 2xdsd verses 4xdsd. not relevant to this discussion. i have plenty of 4sdsd files where i have 2xdsd too. meh. i like and appreciate the difference but it’s not profound.

ADC for some was a Modified Korg. others i think were a Merging Technology NADAC. i did not do the needle drops myself, but it was the same tt/arm cartridge i had and same front end electronics.

are there better adc’s? i would assume there are. enough difference to matter? not likely.

the digital <-> analog delta i experience is not marginal.

mikelavigne
can you tell us which specific recording this is?

Mike
Had to go digging for the link. Long time since I was on their website. 
The recording of my tape. NAB EQ. Back in 2011.

https://ultraanaloguerecordings.com/new/shop/musician/yun-yang-lee/beethoven-cello-sonata-no-3-in-a-...

But...... I am no longer seeing a digital option for purchase of the music like there used to be. If there is not a legal, or other reason for this, I'm sure Ed would be happy to send you or someone the Digital version if requested.   The CD was a DSD transfer of the tape.

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From their site for the tape heads reading.  8^0

These master tape duplicates are recorded on RMG SM900 tape at +4 dB above 250 nWb/m. which equals 396 nWb/m. This will give you the most realistic dynamic range and best S/N ratio possible. The output level of your tape deck must be adjustable and needs to be calibrated to this level to realize the best playback of these tapes. I have recorded a 25 sec track of 1 kHz tone behind the leader to help you calibrate your tape machine. Use this to set the output level of your tape deck to show 0 VU.
I can make you a 250 nWb/m tape, (TapeProject level) if your tape deck does not have an adjustable output stage – please let me know in your order.

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This was an interesting period for me going back to 2011. I can't believe all these years have gone by. 8^0 . I remember using select 15 IPS Tapes at the time to help me tune my digital and vinyl. For those interested...my digital is a personal build. It is based on a dedicated Lenovo Thinkpad Laptop, external WD going through the ARC Dac. For my vinyl setup - Verdier La Platine Granito / Custom build ET 2.5, various carts. Click on Wile E Coyote and select the system link.  

Let me say this. 

Most of my LPS (many) I do not own digital files of and do not feel (anymore) a need to acquire them on digital. 

Likewise most of my digital music I do not have vinyl versions of - because again, I do not feel a need.
  
But the best way I can say it.

If it starts digital and eventually goes to vinyl - it does not go back to digital.

Have never gone ..... ever .....from vinyl playing to digital.

I blame this phenomena on the engineers...8^0

@mikelavigne 

ask Andreas about 2xdsd verses 4xdsd. not relevant to this discussion. i have plenty of 4sdsd files where i have 2xdsd too. meh. i like and appreciate the difference but it’s not profound.

ADC for some was a Modified Korg. others i think were a Merging Technology NADAC. i did not do the needle drops myself, but it was the same tt/arm cartridge i had and same front end electronics.

are there better adc’s? i would assume there are. enough difference to matter? not likely.

the digital <-> analog delta i experience is not marginal

Was the vinyl used even your own copies? You don't mention cables, so I would gather that they and the power conditioners were different, as well.

😂

This would be the same as someone dismissing you, saying that their Technics record player or reel-to-reel is comparable to yours, and the difference is too little to matter.

It is clear what side of the argument you fall on, and that you have no real intent to discover otherwise, or the fallaciousness of your argument. Oh well, enjoy the music!

sadono97 posts

Please post your system. Thanks.

Mike, I was not trying to attack you. Sometime we do not realized how other people hear/read our words and I was just suggesting, "it seems like, or appears" I gave an example of digital remasters of old David Bowie records that sound much better than the original analog audio in direct AB comparison with volumes matched (EXTREMELY important). I do believe this is because the original masters were poor not due to any defect or superiority of these formats.
Yes, originally digital was touted as this, that and the other. We audiophiles were scratching our heads wondering with all the theory what went wrong because it did not sound so hot. Several decades later most of the problems have come to light the big one being that you have to master in a different way to suit either analog or digital playback. Done correctly without dynamic compression and with playback no lower than 96/24 I know that digital can provide state of the art results in particular with live recordings that have the inherent background noise of a live situation. Right now I am listening to the MPS re release of George Duke's Faces in Reflection. Analog all the way and wonderful. 95 dB and I feel like the band is right in front of me.
Raul, I love the analogy of our brains being ADCs. They are!
Atdavid, there is always a reason and searching for that reason allows us to fix problems instead of compounding them. 
In a nut shell some of us think Analog is inherently better and some of us think digital is inherently better. Some of us think it depends. I will place myself in the third group with the caveat that ultimately digital will prevail.
It allow us to do things that are impossible in the analog domain like room control and seamless bass management. It allows us to go online and download music in a heartbeat to the most efficient form of storage, a hard drive now in 24 bit formats w/o lossy compression. If there are any detrimental sonic artifacts left they will eventually be banished and Mike L will sell his analog stuff to the Smithsonian for display with the Write Brother's Flyer and other Dinosaurs. I'm a hopeless romantic so I will hold on to mine:)