digital vs vinyl thoughts


i suspect i have been comparing apples and oranges. i just bought a project debut 111 with a shure m97x and after a month have been less than overwhelmed. when i go back to my emotiva cd/musical fidelity v-dac the performance just blows the table away. i have checked everything several times. i have concluded that due to using power cords and ics[all morrow audio] on my set up that each equals the price of the table i was expecting too much from an entry level table. the vinyl reproduction is not distorted, seems to be tracking ok, is set up with good isolation, and after a month of use...broke in. but the fact that the project has a hard wired ac cord and less than stellar phono wires and a inexpensive cartridge must be the reason. the rest of the system is emotiva usp-1 pre and xpa-2 power with mmgs. any ideas? thanks john
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Showing 2 responses by kennythekey

You can spend all the money you want, but the two formats will still sound somewhat different if you're capable of hearing those differences.

I listen to both formats and have invested in both. I found that I had to spend more money on my analog front end to surpass, in my mind, my older Theta CD Transport/DAC. For some, this may be diminishing returns, or some just like the sound of digital more.

I have to be honest with everyone and admit, that the Theta gear caused me set aside my older SOTA Star Sapphire TT. However, I never really invested in a real high-end cartridge, so maybe that was a limiting factor.

Today, the tables have turned as I invested in an analog front-end that really allows me to hear the "difference" that somewhat eluded me for a number of years. However, I don't think it's so much about sound quality as it is about sound pleasure. I am more relaxed, less bored, and happier listening to my TT. The reasons for this don't matter to me. If I can quantify anything, is that my analog front sounds like it is delivering more information than my digital front. So, cymbals sound more like cymbals and I can sense the air between the instruments. Okay, more natural.
I wanted to add that I personally feel that both formats are essential for the playback of music. What good is any equipment without music to play on it?

I expanded my listening to audio files, not for convenience, but because I could not find certain music on LP or on CD. Or, it was only available on CD, or only available on LP. I would hate to give up music just because I'm a die-hard this or that.