CDs Vs LPs

I haven’t delved much into vinyl as I don’t have the room for a vinyl rig, or to store vinyl in my current apartment. So instead I invested in a world class cd player (Vitus SCD-025 Mk2) which I placed on Stillpoints Ultra 6 feet + Ultra bases, Ultra LPI + paired with Jorma Prime cables to optimize the player.

I’ve heard my friends vinyl rigs and admit they do sound great. One of my friends owns a Kronos Pro Limited tt + SCPS-1 psu connected to a Vitus MP-P201 phono stage, and another friend has an AMG Viella V12, AMG 12JT Turbo tonearm + DS Audio Master 1 cart/EQ. So not cheap!

But whilst current vinyl pressings are expensive and by and large are more cheaply pressed, and with lower SQ than in vinyl’s heyday, audiophile cd’s have been closing the gap with formats such as XRCD24, UHQCD, DXD, SHM/Platinum SHM, Mofi Gold, K2HD etc. Playing a DXD or K2HD cd through the Vitus really wows you with it’s resolution, quietness, dynamic range, body and staging. For all the fuss and inconvenience of vinyl, i’m happy to stick with cd’s!

Don’t get me wrong @dynaquest4, I prefer cd’s to vinyl for the convenience factor & have invested a lot of money in my player (Vitus SCD-025Mk2). Playing some audiophile cd’s such as those I mentioned earlier, the sound is amazing. That said, i’ve a-b compared my friend’s Kronos setup to this Vitus transport/dac (see my previous post) and it was clearly better on well recorded 180gm vinyl. You pays, you gets as they say..

Picking up on Atmasphere’s comments about lp vs cd’s bandwidth, yes rbcd standard is recorded at 16bit/44kHz resolution, however doesn’t take into account three things; firstly the mastering process, upsampling in the dac, and the quality of the disc itself.

RBCD’s such as XRCD24 and K2HD are mastered at 24bit/100kHz resolution which is then down-converted in the dac. Whilst DXD cd’s are mastered at 24bit/352.8kHz resolution, which again is then down-converted in the dac to rbcd standard.

Upsampling if properly implemented can restore much of the resolution lost in the down-conversion process. My player (Vitus SCD-025 Mk2) utilizes an EngineeRED Q8 upsampling module which is a stereo synchro-upsampler that accepts PCM signal from 32 up to 384 kHz, but also DSD64 and DSD128 (2,8224 MHz and 5,6448 MHz). It delivers a PCM 24/384 kHz signal which is then sent to the two AD1955 D/A converters operating in mono configuration. It is a true extrapolation system, and not just adding 8 empty bits.

Next is the quality of the media. New discs which specifically address inherent issues with disc quality, accuracy, frequency range and longevity have entered the market such as UHQCD, XRCD24, SHM (incl: SHM Platinum) and DXD. Having several of those discs in my collection, I can attest to their stunning SQ, resolution & palpability. Just sayin’.

Great input @atmasphere . Just curious if you think all the EQ curves various high end manufacturers use (eg: RIAA, Decca, Columbia etc) are accurate taking into account vinyl pressings from the 40's and 50's through to the present day? That seems like a pandora's box to me.

@atmasphere What I meant is, there doesn’t seem to be a exact consensus on what the EQ curves should be for older recordings in particular. As I understand it that is because the Labels themselves changed the recording process over time. Sorry if the question is off-topic.