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What is the reason for this? (Digital vs Vinyl Question)

I recently bought new speakers - GoldenEar Triton One.R towers - to pair with my Naim Uniti Star. My set-up for digital is the Naim with Ethernet, Qobuz & Tidal HiRes organized and played through Roon. With all of my other systems until now I preferred the sound of vinyl over digital. I have a Rega Planar 3 tt with Rega Fono preamp. I spin the highest quality records you can get - Mofi 1 Step, Analogue Productions, Classic Records, etc. etc. I've been listening for days trying to convince myself otherwise because of the $$ I've spent on records but the digital chain just sounds better to my ears. The question is: Is this because my new speakers are revealing the disparity between digital and analog better than lesser speakers I've used in the past (Monitor Silver, PSB Platinum, etc.) or is it because some speakers just match better with digital vs vinyl or is it because with the Naim streamer / DAC I've just put together a better digital front end and need to upgrade my tt and / or phono preamp?  
jdm11

Showing 2 responses by verdantaudio

verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,517 posts
 
That Naim is a surprisingly good digital rig.  Your TT and phono aren't "entry level" but only one rung up.  A step up in phono stage and at least cartridge will pay dividends.  

Rega tables in general are known for PRaT which usually means punchy mid-bass with rolled off highs and somewhat flabby low bass but mids that shine like the sun.  Your old speakers may not have illustrated this as cleanly.  

The real question is now that you are hearing shortcomings of your vinyl rig, you want to decide if the issue is Rega's sound profile or if it is just a lack of resolution / refinement.  

You probably have an Elys II on that Rega. An Exact II or Ania and a Chord Huei or other nice phono stage would step things up incrementally and get you closer to the same level while retaining the character that people love about Rega.  

If Rega is the issue, then it is a matter of exploring other tables like VPI, ProJect, Clearaudio, etc... and associated cartridges.  

I find that my vinyl rig and digital setups sound different but both are about equally enjoyable.  
 
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,517 posts
 
Someone above mentioned Dynavector.  That is a perfect upgrade in terms of cartridge.  10x, or 20x. Whichever you can afford.  You will get no noise issues with that Dynavector.  Rega grounds differently than some other tables and you can get some noise with Grado or say Ortofon Cadenza cartridges. 

Then get the best phone stage you can.  Once you move away from Rega cartridges, you will find that Rega phono stage will not deliver at the same level. Not sure where your budget will fall.  Vet with the group here to flag any big issues in terms of quality.  There are a few units I can think of that would be in your budget that I would avoid as not very good.  

Chord, Musical Fidelity and Rogue are all very safe in terms of phono stage quality.  
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