How many of you are digital only systems?

@stuartk. You wrote: {I wasn't thinking about clicks and pops but of what I often hear vinyl fans say: that vinyl sounds more "organic" and digital sounds "harsh"}

In my experience, digital did sound harsh . . . in the early days of CDs. And to me, vinyl has always sounded more natural than digital does. But that has changed dramatically over the past two decades. I owned a REGA Planet 2000 that applied internal oversampling with IIRC Wolfson DACs. And that made a profound difference in my digital listening experience with the equipment I was using at the time--an Anthem tube preamp, an Anthem hybrid power amp, Red Rose bookshelf speakers, and a 15" Paradigm powered subwoofer. I also had a REGA Planer 3 turntable and Dynavector Ruby cartridge that were at the time, twenty years old. I took my vinyl setup to my local high-end dealer, Audio Alternative in Fort Collins, Colorado to have Rick Dupliseo align everything and replace the drive belt. However, I never broke out my modest vinyl collection to play it on that system.

It unfortunately ended up staying with my ex; and I spent the years after we parted ways with a Marantz surround sound receiver and thirty-year-old Celestion SL 6 bookshelf speakers, primarily for movie playback. (I sort of lost interest in music after going solo).

But last Christmas, I decided to spend some extra scratch that came available to me on a pair of Martin Logan virtual line-source EM-ESLs (ML's smallest electrostats) and an ML 8" Dynamo powered subwoofer--the sort of speaker technology I'd dreamtof owning for forty years. My only music sources were digital--a Sony UBP X1000ES SACD player and an Apple TV. Everything sounded wonderful until early February, when my receiver's power amp section began to fail. So I went back to Rick, looking for a Black Ice tube integrated. It turned out that he had just taken in an F35 on consignment; and I hauled that 60 pound behemoth home. The music sounded even better than before. Plus I had supplemental heating in my cold apartment. Two months later, the preamp section in my receiver crapped out. So I looked for a premium (by my standards) quality two-channel preamp with a comprehensive DAC section. I ended up choosing an Anthem STR pre, in large part because its built-in ARC system was a huge draw for me. Now everything sounded terrific. Plus, I had discovered the great folks at Crutchfield Electronics

But at the time I bought my Back Ice, Rick asked me if I'd like to hear a Linn LP12 with an Akito 3B tonearm. He set it up with a Hana Sl MC cartridge that sounded nice. So I took it home. But before I left his shop, he played a severely warped vinyl album on a maxed out LP12, with Lyre's top dog MC cartridge through a $200,000+ system. The soundstage presentation was as close to live as I've ever heard; and the cartridge's extreme frequency response combined the with system's otherworldly imaging evoked long-dormant emotions I'd never fully processed.

Perhaps naively, thinking that I could obtain similar results at home, I tinkered a bit with platter mats, VTA and my preamp's ARC utility. But I couldn't get anywhere close to what I'd heard at the store. So I went back to talk cartridges with Rick; and he told me that the Linn Krystal MC would probably generate some of the same excitement I'd experienced listening to his maxed out system. And when he demoed the cartridge, I had to agree. When I got the new setup home, I discovered that my electronics and speakers approximated the sound of his $300,000 system; but without the sheer volume capability his system possessed. And that's fine because I live in a small apartment where high-volume listening could get me quickly evicted.

At about the same time, I subscribed to Amazon's curated HD digital music streaming service, and listened to that through my preamp's DAC. And much to my surprise, it didn't miss the SQ of my Linn analogue setup by very much. Nevertheless, the SQ improvement with the Linn is more than worth the cost of admission to me (~$6K). But as I'm sitting at my desk, I'm listening to Max Richter via Amazon HD digital; and enjoying it every bit as much as I would my Linn system at any area of my apartment but my listening room.

Short story; I would be loathe to give up either playback technology in my system. But I do plan to further upgrade my turntable down the road as finances permit, if only  for the sheer intensity of my emotional responses to analogue music playback. As I mentioned earlier, I also enjoy all the rituals that go with responsible vinyl playback. �And some of my vinyl collection is irreplaceable in any format.

That's my story; and I'm sticking to it . . . that is until the SQ of streaming digital technology transcends what I get from my analogue system. That might happen next year; and it might not happen for another ten. But I have every reason to keep an open mind; and I'll be ready to make the move to nearly all digital when that time comes (if I'm not dead yet).

Again. Here's to great music, regardless of which technology is used to play it back!

(Yeah. This long post wore me out too:-)

ps. Here's a gimme from an older than dirt audiophile: You won't notice the improved SQ of a sound system that's better than you're used to nearly as much as you'll notice the diminished SQ of a system that's worse than what you're used to.  I shudder to think of ever having to listen to my first generation Hitachi CD player again.

I have system in my finished basement that is digital only. It consists of Promitheous TVC pre,April Music stello DA100 signature DAC,a Node 2,a Decware Z stage,a First Watt J2,driving a pair of Nola Boxer 2's. Sounds great to these ears. I can literally listen for hours without so much of a hint of fatigue. 

100% digital 20 years ago. Now going Qobuz HiRes streaming.

@yermajesty:

"In my experience, digital did sound harsh . . . in the early days of CDs." 

Yeah; my first Sony CDP in the early 90's sounded terribly metallic and shrill. I  switched to a Denon, which was definitely better but nothing like my current Moon transport + Aqua DAC combo.

"And to me, vinyl has always sounded more natural than digital does."

Well, OK.  Each to his/her own. You're certainly not alone in this regard. Vinyl does indeed sound different to me than CD but on good systems, I have no preference. I hear nothing that impels me to seize upon vinyl as a "benchmark". Perhaps I simply haven'y yet heard a sufficiently costly  vinyl system but I have friends with systems costing at least 50K and to my ears their vinyl systems are not superior to my 25K digital system. Others would no doubt reach a different conclusion.    

I'd agree that it's far easier to assemble a fatiguing-sounding digital system. When I decided to move from a CDP to a separate DAC and transport and began demo'ing DACs, I was astonished by the differences.
Some were so resolving that to me, all sense of the "forest" was lost, due to the severe overaccentuation of focus upon the "trees". I could not imagine how anyone could possibly enjoy such an "unnatural" presentation. Nevertheless, I found it helpful in my selection process to hear DACs on both ends of the spectrum.

This process led me to conclude that it's more important to know what one's preferences are as a listener, when going digital, as opposed to   vinyl.  And such knowledge can only come from experience, so perhaps it makes sense for beginners ought to start out with vinyl. 

@stuartk, Great points all. I plan to see Rick about a first-rate digital streaming device next month . . . maybe even before I add a "Keel" to my LP12. What's your recommendation for a current digital streaming device?

Thank you.