I'm still working to love digital, are you?


I'm wondering how many on this forum are still trying to love the "sound" of digital, as compared to analog. After my 15 long years of digital updates (9 cd players, 3 transports and 5 D/A converters), I still relish the midrange purity and harmonic structure involved with analog, that is not nearly as prevalent in digital. I know that digital gets better every year (I've spent well over $20k myself staying abreast with the latest in digital updates), but digital still doesn't grab my soul the same way that analog does. How many feel the same about analog as I do?
ehider

Showing 2 responses by sean

Eric, while i don't mean to come across as being rude, i'm going to ask an honest question here. I know that you are a big fan of Stan Warren products. Knowing that and having read the praises heaped upon his mods to DVD based players ( some of them by you ) as being the finest digital based playback systems made, reading a post of this nature coming from you seems kind of shocking. Are you not running Stan's gear or do you think it still falls that short of analogue ?

Having asked that, i used to think the same thing. Going to tube based DAC's was a big step and then onto a good SS upsampler was even better. While most of the problems with digital ( much like analogue ) are still based on poor recordings, i'm pretty happy with what i'm running now. It might not be anywhere near the ultimate in terms of digital systems, but it is the first time that i've ever been able to say that about ANY form of digital music reproduction.

I will not deny that both formats have their strengths and their weaknesses. I like them both for what they each have to offer. Too bad we don't have the technology to combine the best of both worlds. Sean
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Eric and Will, i agree with both of your posts and understand EXACTLY where you are coming from. I just happen to think that the defining lines between the "soulmate" and "perfect lover" have become permanently blurred for me within the confines of ONE of my systems. Detail and musicality are now "married" just as two become one when in the throes of mutual passion. When i heard the results that i was getting, i knew that it was "magic". The lack of "prat" and "soul-less-ness" that i had been experiencing with digital had been banished to another realm.

As to what i'm hearing out of the other systems that i have, they still lean towards either the "accurate" or "musical" camps. That invisible barrier that separates those two camps still shows how tough it is to break the wall down and have one unified presentation of everything involved. Sean
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