Pardon me if I’m wrong, but is this whole discussion based on a test with a sample size of only one (the Sarah Mclachlan album)? If so, then we’ve really gotten ahead of ourselves here. You can’t make a global judgment about digital vs. analog based on a single example, and more importantly you can’t assume that any release made on both CD and vinyl will sound equally good in both media. On the contrary, i have found that contemporary releases that are digitally produced sound better on CD or HD download than they do on vinyl. Radiohead In Rainbows and Beck Morning Phase are two examples I can think of off the top of my head. In both cases I found the vinyl version to be disappointing compared to the digital download. In fact I’ve steered away from new vinyl releases altogether because I think they’re often overpriced and under-beautiful. And I’m someone who thinks that pound for pound (dollar for dollar), analog is still far better than digital when it comes to simple realism in musical reproduction.
For your test to be informative I think you have to do two things:
- use a number of releases and try to get older vinyl that’s well made and recorded. you’ll have to build a sense of the differences after trying a range of CDs and LPs.
- make sure your vinyl set up is a fair match for a highly regarded CD player like the Esoteric X03SE. I see no problem with your VPI record player, but I agree with the comments here that your phono stage (really critical for vinyl!) could be better, and also your test won’t say much until you have the cartridge loading set correctly for the Denon.
Sorry if this sounds like a tirade - it’s only intended as constructive criticism. guess the point is, analog takes a lot more work to get it right. That's one of the many advantages of the digital medium!
For your test to be informative I think you have to do two things:
- use a number of releases and try to get older vinyl that’s well made and recorded. you’ll have to build a sense of the differences after trying a range of CDs and LPs.
- make sure your vinyl set up is a fair match for a highly regarded CD player like the Esoteric X03SE. I see no problem with your VPI record player, but I agree with the comments here that your phono stage (really critical for vinyl!) could be better, and also your test won’t say much until you have the cartridge loading set correctly for the Denon.
Sorry if this sounds like a tirade - it’s only intended as constructive criticism. guess the point is, analog takes a lot more work to get it right. That's one of the many advantages of the digital medium!