Ohio - Over the Rhine

@millercarbon 

I agree… this really is becoming a golden age. Convergence. Used to be digital could not come close to vinyl at any cost and solid state was too cold and analytical while tube tended to be warm but poor in detail. Now, hard work can net spectacular results with really strong emotional conveyance.

@2psyop

I lived on the border just inside Pennsylvania in a tiny company town where high school specialties were drinking, not finishing school, getting pregnant, taking a job at the one factory, becoming an alcoholic and abusive. Fortunately, I was an outsider an managed to stay clear of the main stream. Over the Rhine captures the hopelessness of this rural plight. Obviously, not everywhere is like this… but I sure was dropped in the middle of it.

@mitchagain

Thanks for your comments. They can leave me completely breathless… yes, Lifelong Fling is wonderful.

Neil Young’s Live at Massey Hall, Crosby, Nash, and Young’s Four Way Street, and Sarah McLcLachlins’s Fumbling Forward… and a few others do the same.

@milpai Yes, the whole album is amazing… also named Ohio. 
 

@holmz 

Thanks, I’ll have a listen. 

@audioman58 

This was not a test, but an observation. All things were the same. This is in my system… you can see under my UserID. I use a cheap wall wart wifi extender plugged into my streamer: Aurender W20SE. No change in amplifiers, speaker cables, or power cords.  

Glad folks enjoyed it. 
 

@mikld 

Since I live outside Portland, I have the disappointing vantage to see that fall into the abyss.

Haunting… yes… perfect word.

Ok. I ordered the vinyl version of the Ohio. So just compared. But of course, this tie with the FLAC 16/44 streamed version… Qobuz. 
 

It took me a couple of cuts to detect any difference… it is very subtle. I noticed the vinyl was ever so slightly warmer, but virtually exclusively on Karin’s voice. The streamed digital version had ever so slightly greater detail and transparency. But emphasis on subtle. 
 

But there is an issue when comparison with my initial post. In the mean time I had swapped out the power cord from my phono stage from the high quality PC provided by Audio Research with a Cardas Clear Beyond… which warmed up the midrange and improved the detail. I would say the PC change was at least twice the difference I heard comparing streamed digital vs vinyl. 
 

This is a reminder of how complex it is to make comparisons. I compromised the results of my initial observations of two weeks ago by changing power cords. I have the CD version, ripped CD version, streamed red book CD version, streamed high resolution version, and the vinyl version. Then my system is composed of about 30 components… boxes, power cords, interconnects, cables, and misc things. 
 

Bottom line. In my system, all formats are very, very similar in sound quality.