Will a $700 turntable outperform a CD player?

In my experience, a $700 turntable, if well sorted, or well set up, will equal or out perform, the best that digital can do or has done so far. 

So I gather you have the experience of listening to the best digital DACs in your home setup...  Wow. I am just curious what was the very best digital transport/DAC you have auditioned in your own setup? 

Buying a TT today is justified either as a lifestyle choice (should I squeeze "hipster" somewhere here?) or by a large collection of good old analogue vinyl that you already own. And by analogue vinyl I mean albums that were recorded and produced properly i.e. in analogue domain. An original or a truly good pressing often may cost you an arm and a leg. Now, if you are going to collect recent shiny issues to play on your new TT, just forget about outperforming a good digital source. Simply because this "analogue" record is a conversion of a digital studio recording. The proverbial "human hearing" here is nothing but a myth: you are listening to a digital file in a form of a vinyl. Also a TT is a major money pit, buying it is just a beginning, and for most the very nature of a TT will lead to tinkering and upgrades. On the other hand DACs have progressed tremendously in the last 5-6 years. I had several DACs in the last 20 years - Trivista, Reimyo, Naim and some other names I don’t even remember. Now I have Innuos ZEN mk3 + Aqua La Voce S3 as my main source and this modern R2R ladder DAC just trounced everything I had before and made me completely forget about a TT. It doesn’t have a trace of digital nasties that plagued older DACs. And it is modular, so it can be upgraded in the future. The only downside it is not cheap. But the difference between a £1000 DAC and a £3500 DAC is huge in terms of "human hearing". And a good proper TT setup can easily cost you even more. I expect DACs and digital file sources to progress even more in the next years, whereas with a TT you are stuck. The only way to progress here is to pay insane money for top cartridges etc.

It isn't that simple. That's because many commercial CDs and digital files have been substantially compressed as part of the Loudness Wars, while an LP may be given kinder treatment and have a wider dynamic range. Digital often doesn't take advantage of its theoretical technical advantages.

 Agree, but CDs choice is huge. And modern DACs play DSD... 

If you buy a good high-end turntable and pickup arm, future upgrades won't be required or even necessarily advantageous. (Although you will have to replace your stylus or phono cartridge every so often.)

Yes, but "hi-end" is a key word here. 

Hmmm, you make digital sound like a money pit.

:-))  Only if you buy new and don't know what you are doing.