Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD


Long story short, i've just brought home a VPI classic 1 mounted with a Zu-Denon DL103 on JMW Memorial 10.5 with the appropriate heavier counterweight. Had everything dialed in..perfect azimuth, VTF, overhang, with only a slightly higher than perfect VTA. Levelling checked. All good. 

I did a comparison between the VPI and my Esoteric X03SE and it's not even close. The Esoteric completely crushes the VPI in all regards. The level of treble refinement, air, decay, soundstage depth and width, seperation, tonality, overall coherence is just a simply a league above from what I'm hearing from the VPI. The only area the VPI seems to be better at is bass weight, but not by much. 

I'm honestly quite dumbfounded here. I've always believed that analogue should be superior to digital. I know the Esoteric is a much pricier item but the VPI classic is supposed to be a very good turntable and shouldn't be a slouch either. At this point I feel like I should give up on analogue playback and invest further in digital. 

Has anyone had a similar experience comparing the best of digital to a very good analogue setup?

Equipment:
Esoteric X03SE 
VPI Classic, JMW Memorial 10.5, Zu-DL103
Accuphase C200L
Accuphase P600
AR 90 speakers

Test Record/CD:
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Redbook vs MOV 180g reissue)



chadsort
Out of sheer curiosity, I just tried, more or less, what OP did but with less effort.

Being one of the less biased participants here (I cannot care less what sounds better, in fact), I compared same album on a record and CD with one more added bonus.

CD was Jennifer Warnes’ Famous Blue Raincoat, 20th Anniversary issue, regular one that used to be in stores for $15-20. Record was Jennifer Warnes’ Famous Blue Raincoat, 20th Anniversary issue, 45rpm, 180 g (maybe 200?), Cisco Music limited edition (1833/6000) in mint condition played maybe three or four times before this.

On my, for this forum, low-fi equipment and with no expectations on which one would win, it was beyond simple. To paraphrase/quote OP, record crushed CD. It was really no dispute, not even remotely. Everything, but really everything, was better on the record. For once, it was even quiet like CD. Eerie, to be honest.

Of note, my turntable was set up at some point in a couple of minutes, not months or years as some do. No VTA setting, azimuth, or any other sophisticated measurement. Just 52 mm to needle, set approximately by eyes and with a ruler. Azimuth approximated by staring at it. Kind of what you do when you do not want to spend life tuning-in your turntable. No special stands, isolation, nothing.

This was the result of one record/CD comparison. Not much of a sample, for sure. It made me wonder about all the turntable set-ups and "matching" and whatever else that, sort of, discredited OP’s comparison. It seems to me that turntable is much less important than the record itself. In my case, to the point of "as long as it runs, it is good enough". It may not be in the format, but in execution of it.

I also compared original CD from years before this 20th Anniversary issue wondering what the deal was with "remasters are no good, loudness wars, etc." I read from time to time. Well, remaster was better to me but a little bit of mental bias could change that for someone.

Turntable is Technics SL-Q2 with Soundsmith Otello cartridge. Give OP a break, his stuff is actually decent. My turntable has more years than cartridge hours (20-25-30 hours, I would guess).

Should I add that I think that digital is actually superior format. Even for me whose vinyl life is much simpler than most. No adjustments, no tweaks.
Digital recording pressed in vinyl vs a digital recording on digital. Now, listen to a real analog recording on analog record vs a the CD of that recording and we can talk.

Also, the VPI arm is way to light for that cartridge. 
Any recommendations for guy like me with no experience in vinyls. Should I just keep what I got now or should I get new equipment? I was going to replace phono preamp to match my accuphase ad2850 or even c37 and maybe I should also go with accuphase cartridge to continue to make it better match those components and what table to this idea . Any way if this idea is good? Or maybe somebody has better idea? Thanks