2. misc-audio
  3. 126413-87702

Vinyl VS Digital

After 20+ years I broke out my turn table from the 70's again.  I have been mostly listening to CD and streaming music for the last 15 years on higher end gear in a dedicated and treated home theater room.  I also have a dedicated two channel system in the same room.  

All the hype surrounding analog has prompted to me to purchase a dedicated preamp so that I could once again hook up my TT.  I also purchased an Aurlic Aries to compare.  I'm ready to upgrade my old Technics SL 1600 MK2 running a Grace Cartridge.  But I have concerns.  

I could care less about the additional hiss, crackle and Pop thats not in digital.  I think its cool to put on an album and just listen to my 30 year old small collection from when I was a teenager.    

I started doing A/B comparisons by switching between the TT and the Aries (FLAC).  I even bought new vinyl to do so.  The thing keeping me from going "All In" is the imaging.  No matter what I do with (aligning the cartridge), I cannot get the imaging to match that of digital.  Specifically, voice and instrument that stems from center stage with digital cannot be reproduced with the TT as source.  One might say the stage is wider but its too wide to point where definition is lost.  Don't get me wrong it still sounds good but is it right?  Is it my TT or is it in the recording.  Or is this the difference I am suppose to be hearing?


  
ap_wannabe

Showing 3 responses by cleeds

cleeds
6,070 posts
 
wolf_garcia
I'm a "pan format" listener, but I bought some of my vinyl in the 60s ...
What is a "pan format?" Do you mean those early stereo records with the vocals panned all the way to one side and the instruments to the other? Those must be some of the most awful-sounding records ever, imo.
cleeds
6,070 posts
 
chayro
One pitfall of analog is that some people just cannot sit back and listen to it without constantly thinking about cartridge alignment, record cleaning, VTA, VTF and whatever else can be fooled with.
That's true. Those listeners usually don't have their systems set up properly, and their trial-and-error approach using sloppy tools never gets them there.
cleeds
6,070 posts
 
ap_wannabe OP
Has anyone else heard a sound stage difference between the same recordings at the same volume vinyl versus CD.  It is so pronounced in my system. On digital recordings its as if I had a center speaker playing.  On albums there is no center speaker.
You're comparing different recordings and different mastering, so you can't really call them the same. But if the difference is a consistent one, it's likely you have setup problems with your turntable/pickup arm/cartridge.
More to discover