I listened to both the vinyl and the SACD versions side by side and there was no comparison - the vinyl version sound better - more depth, better bass extension, more air around the notes. However, 2 caveats- (1) the master for the SACD and the vinyl version are not the same - they were re-mastered for the vinyl version according to a friend at the SFS and (2) my SACD player is a $25K. Would the difference be so noticeable if I owned a top flight SACD player? Possibly. Regardless, it was cheaper for me to spend the couple hundred $ up charge for the vinyl set and know what I was getting rather than spending thousands to upgrade the SACD player only to discover that what my ear was responding to was the re-master, not the player. So we are not all "suckers."
Mahler Project on LP
Just wanted to let folks know that if you love Mahler and you love vinyl that the San Francisco Symphony just announced that they would if demand was high enough they would press 500 more box sets of Mahler's complete cycle. I own this set and I am very, very impressed. I own many other Mahler works on lp by all the great conductors of the 20th century (Walter, Bernstein, Barberoli,Klemperer ect.) and this set is equal to them in many ways. AND the Sound is Fantastic! The Vinyl is quiet and the dynamics are not like any classical album I own. It's great fun.