Does Anyone Think CD is Better Than Vinyl/Analog?


I am curious to know if anyone thinks the CD format (and I suppose that could include digital altogether) sounds better than vinyl and other analog formats. Who here has gone really far down both paths and can make a valid comparison? So far, I have only gone very far down the CD path and I just keep getting blown away by what the medium is capable of! I haven’t hit a wall yet. It is extremely dependent on proper setup, synergy and source material. Once you start getting those things right, the equipment gets out of the way and it can sound more fantastic than you can imagine! It’s led me to start developing a philosophy that goes something like this: Digital IS “perfect sound forever”; it’s what we do to the signal between the surface of the CD and the speaker cone that compromises it.” 
So I suppose what I’m asking for is stories from people who have explored both mediums in depth and came to the conclusion that CD has the most potential (or vice versa - that’s helpful too). And I don’t simply mean you’ve spent a lot of money on a CD player. I mean you’ve tinkered and tweaked and done actual “research in the lab,” and came back with a deep understanding of the medium and can share those experiences with others.

In my experience, the three most important things to get right are to find a good CD player (and good rarely means most expensive in my experience) and then give it clean power. In my case, I have modified my CD player to run off battery power with DC-DC regulators. The last thing that must be done right is the preamp. It’s the difference between “sounds pretty good” and “sounds dynamic and realistic.”
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Showing 1 response by hshifi

Hello,
To start with the basics. It comes down to the recording. Garbage in, garbage out. Some remastered recordings are good like Abby Road. Others make good frisbees. As far as what we hear I have to say records as long as you have a pretty good TT and phono preamp. We are talking $1000 to $1500 minimum for both new and a good resolving system. If you don’t have that kind of budget then it’s CDs. Especially if you have a nice DAC and a decent transport. I am bot going to get into the cost of each media. My motto is- buy once cry once. Budget limiting I say try to get to the next level if you are close. Do you know how many people buy a Rega P3 for $1150 only to spend a $1000 dollars on upgrades to basically turn it into a Rega P6. In the end you still don’t have the P6 plinth. They trade or sell the modded P3 for $1000 to get a P6. I call it the $3000 Rega P6. Just buy the P6 and spend the $1000 on records.