Thinking this is a valuable thread I’m compelled to tell my story. I found my digital fascination during the early days of the digital revolution. I was entranced with the format that offered so much. Analog was dead and gone. Since the mid 80s my analog devices, TT and RR, were relegated to "look pretty but be silent" status. Eventually the RR was sold off to finance a better CD player. The trusted TT sat gathering dust as my digital fever blossomed. Eventually I worked myself into HT and all its associated glamour. My cd collection grew into the thousands. All the early recording conversions AAD, ADD and finally DDD and HDCD are still in my collection. As time and listening went by I started to get the impression that there was something missing in the digital realm. I recalled from days past the warm glow and smoothness that I so much enjoyed. In early 2017 I dusted off the old TT and phono pre and dug out an old LP, James Gang, Rides Again, and sat back and listened. Oh yes the warmth and smoothness were there alright along with the snap, crackle and pop but still it was bearable. Having many of the same titles on LP and CD I did some critical listening. This led me to conclude that digital was lacking the warmth and smoothness of the LP when converted from an analog master to digital format in both AAD and ADD. Digital was cold and harsh to my ears but deadly silent. No snap cracklet and pop. My old. Vintage 1977 TT got a second life as I used it more frequenly. In November 2017 I made the decision to build a basic analog only system as best I could afford. My gift to myself! I purchased an integrated which included a Phono stage and a mid priced TT along with a mid priced cartridge. Needless to say I am blown away by what I experience. I’m hearing details not heard since the 80s, the warmth and smoothness is back and my go to listening has changed from the convenience of digital to tediousness of analog. Tedious it is, gone are the full automatic TT, push a button and skip a track FFW, Repeat, etc. Gone also is the dreaded listeners fatigue. I am impressed with the development of turntable design since the 70s. I’m loving my music more than ever. My old LPs sound better than ever even with the occasional snap, crackle and pop.
Sure I still listen to digital. I favor those of DDD or HDCD which come really close or exceed my analog rig but the analog blows recordings AAD and ADD completely off the map. Still have to listen to them as I have accumulated far more CDs than LPs but I fail to get the same satisfaction.
I will say that there is a very distinct difference in perceived sound between my digital and analog systems. Both are very good at what they do.
This is also as short as I could make it and tells MY experience in a nutshell.
My audio evolution has come full circle I’m back to the beginning.
Sure I still listen to digital. I favor those of DDD or HDCD which come really close or exceed my analog rig but the analog blows recordings AAD and ADD completely off the map. Still have to listen to them as I have accumulated far more CDs than LPs but I fail to get the same satisfaction.
I will say that there is a very distinct difference in perceived sound between my digital and analog systems. Both are very good at what they do.
This is also as short as I could make it and tells MY experience in a nutshell.
My audio evolution has come full circle I’m back to the beginning.