Analog vs. digital

As usual a +1 @ghdprentice I came back to vinyl about 20 yrs ago and was surprised how close a <$1K TT and <$1K phono preamp came to my digital and often bested it. I've moved up quite a bit since then and actually my vinyl rig is much more costly than my Theta Miles CDP. But I'm often surprised how close the Miles comes to the vinyl with certain recordings. However the Miles is tweaked a bit also which brought it up quite a bit from pure stock.

That said, the Miles is also known as THE R&R CDP due to its abundance of bass punch which is necessary for Classic rock  to sound good. This is what I listen to mostly and I get that punch with analog but not with all digital. The bass is often there but not the punch or driving force which is what a rhythm section is supposed to add for R&R. i'm not sure that is the goal in female vocals or jazz. So good clean digital without the glare may be the better for the typical audiophile music. But IME It took several digital players to get the sound I was looking for. Now the Miles is getting old and I'm trying to stream. As for Dacs, I think my safest bet is probably the Yggdrasil since it is supposedly the Theta Gen 5a on steroids. 

+2, @ghdprentice

If both recordings source from the same master, your components can be the differentiator in maximizing your joy.

@jmphotography

If you’re up for it, try a nice tube DAC to bridge the gap between digital and analog systems. While Qutest is nice, I believe you can do much better under $2K. Couple of suggestions, check out DAC’s from MHDT Orchid and Border Patrol.

I have six times more money on the analog side and on my system the analog is more musical with more presence. DSD stored locally is wonderful, but the same material on a good pressing is better..but that assumes that I have the funds to buy the album, it is available and is a good pressing. 

Everything comes down to$$,  the sweet spot in digital $4-6 k 

turntables  similar ,  T get a lot better maybe 3-4x the price in my experiences 

in the many setups I have heard.

My experience is that once you cross a certain threshold, analog sounds better.

My digital is Emm, my analog is VPI.  I haven’t had much need to upgrade my digital.  But my analog is probably twice as expensive as my digital.  Both sound great but the analog has a more realistic sound.  It’s more “defined” as well.

I tried a regular entry level turntable in my exact system, sounded dull and vague and missing bass notes by comparison.  I don’t believe analog is baseline better than digital.

it’s easier to get your digital to sound great rather than analog.  IMO.