2. analog
  3. 140184-113812

Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD

Long story short, i've just brought home a VPI classic 1 mounted with a Zu-Denon DL103 on JMW Memorial 10.5 with the appropriate heavier counterweight. Had everything dialed in..perfect azimuth, VTF, overhang, with only a slightly higher than perfect VTA. Levelling checked. All good. 

I did a comparison between the VPI and my Esoteric X03SE and it's not even close. The Esoteric completely crushes the VPI in all regards. The level of treble refinement, air, decay, soundstage depth and width, seperation, tonality, overall coherence is just a simply a league above from what I'm hearing from the VPI. The only area the VPI seems to be better at is bass weight, but not by much. 

I'm honestly quite dumbfounded here. I've always believed that analogue should be superior to digital. I know the Esoteric is a much pricier item but the VPI classic is supposed to be a very good turntable and shouldn't be a slouch either. At this point I feel like I should give up on analogue playback and invest further in digital. 

Has anyone had a similar experience comparing the best of digital to a very good analogue setup?

Equipment:
Esoteric X03SE 
VPI Classic, JMW Memorial 10.5, Zu-DL103
Accuphase C200L
Accuphase P600
AR 90 speakers

Test Record/CD:
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Redbook vs MOV 180g reissue)



chadsort

Showing 11 responses by iamhe

iamhe
56 posts
 
As a teenager me and my friends use to buy albums mostly Hiphop and R& B, because we DJ’d at house parties. When I joined the Service, I stop buying albums without a second thought because CDs was the new thing that promised better sound, portability and easy care.

My first direct comparison of vinyl and CD’s occurred when I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath back in the late 80s.

A friend I was picking up from his dorm room for a basketball game was playing some music (Jazz & Blues). I noticed that it was a record. As listed to the music, I said to him what’s up with the records.

He said because they sound authentic. I can’t recall all the records and CD’s we Compared. But what I do remember is on this one record we could hear the breathing in the mic and the creaking in the floor. Which the CD version did not have.

 
iamhe
56 posts
 
sejodiren 

Yes indeed. Between Lakenheath and Mildenhll I enjoyed 6 years in the UK.
iamhe
56 posts
 
Very true, but that was just a quick search.  There might be some recent data and or comparisons available.  
iamhe
56 posts
 
You said it all. In my house I’m out numbered by YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify devotees. No one buys CD’s anymore. Tiny headphone are said to sound better than my old caver al 3’s.



iamhe
56 posts
 
glupson:

Thank you.  I enjoy both platforms to include streaming Pandora.  My current vinyl collection is pretty limited because I believe older vinyl tends to sound better.  For me the comparison between any format is relevant because it drive technology forward.  However that does not nessasarly negate the inherent qualities of older technology and perhaps to build on it. 
iamhe
56 posts
 

I found the link to be interesting.  I wonder what impact HD Vinyle will have.


https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/is-the-sound-on-vinyl-records-better-than-on-cds-or-dvds.htm

Comparison of a raw analog audio signal to the CD audio and DVD audio output

 

The answer lies in the difference between analog and digital recordings. A vinyl record is an analog recording, and CDs and DVDs are digital recordings. Take a look at the graph below. Original sound is analog by definition. A digital recording takes snapshots of the analog signal at a certain rate (for CDs it is 44,100 times per second) and measures each snapshot with a certain accuracy (for CDs it is 16-bit, which means the value must be one of 65,536 possible values).

This means that, by definition, a digital recording is not capturing the complete sound wave. It is approximating it with a series of steps. Some sounds that have very quick transitions, such as a drum beat or a trumpet's tone, will be distorted because they change too quickly for the sample rate.

In your home stereo the CD or DVD player takes this digital recording and converts it to an analog signal, which is fed to your amplifier. The amplifier then raises the voltage of the signal to a level powerful enough to drive your speaker.

A vinyl record has a groove carved into it that mirrors the original sound's waveform. This means that no information is lost. The output of a record player is analog. It can be fed directly to your amplifier with no conversion.

This means that the waveforms from a vinyl recording can be much more accurate, and that can be heard in the richness of the sound. But there is a downside, any specks of dust or damage to the disc can be heard as noise or static. During quiet spots in songs this noise may be heard over the music. Digital recordings don't degrade over time, and if the digital recording contains silence, then there will be no noise.

From the graph you can see that CD quality audio does not do a very good job of replicating the original signal. The main ways to improve the quality of a digital recording are to increase the sampling rate and to increase the accuracy of the sampling.

The recording industry has a new standard for DVD audio discs that will greatly improve the sound quality. The table below lists the sampling rate and the accuracy for CD recordings, and the maximum sampling rate and accuracy for DVD recordings. DVDs can hold 74 minutes of music at their highest quality level. CDs can also hold 74 minutes of music. By lowering either the sampling rate or the accuracy, DVDs can hold more music. For instance a DVD can hold almost 7 hours of CD quality audio.


iamhe
56 posts
 
n80:

For me part of the journey is having fun researching different gear to include auditioning. Buying previously owned is also an option as long as you make informed purchases.

I would not focus on buying an anolog source to out proform CD’s but to achieve a level of anologe audio you can enjoy. There are some really excellent Vintage turntables that out proform many modern decks, if spec mean anything.

With a level of risk and patients you can source good deals on excellent used cartridges and a variety of other analog gear. Of course buying new is alway preferred but from what I have read sometimes expectation aren’t meant.


iamhe
56 posts
 
Fleschler, I agree with you that there is no standard or certification meeting a certain level of sound quality.  Other than labels such as Blue Note Records, record quality can be all over the place.  If HD Vinyl ever becomes a reality it may establish a standard much like digital audio.  

I have the Frank and Jobim album with the Girl from Ipanema which I think sounds awesome.  Tonight I will give it a listen for imagining and soundstage. 


iamhe
56 posts
 
glupson, I have the Pro-Ject RCM and the Vinyl Styl system.  I typically use them in series.  I plan to pickup an ultrasonic RCM after the holidays.  Still doing some research.
iamhe
56 posts
 
Lol....  what you talking about Willis :) 
iamhe
56 posts
 
orpheus10:  The larger questions are, why do they stream and what are they listening with equipment wise.   
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