2. analog
  3. 140184-113812

Turntable got absolutely crushed by CD

Long story short, i've just brought home a VPI classic 1 mounted with a Zu-Denon DL103 on JMW Memorial 10.5 with the appropriate heavier counterweight. Had everything dialed in..perfect azimuth, VTF, overhang, with only a slightly higher than perfect VTA. Levelling checked. All good. 

I did a comparison between the VPI and my Esoteric X03SE and it's not even close. The Esoteric completely crushes the VPI in all regards. The level of treble refinement, air, decay, soundstage depth and width, seperation, tonality, overall coherence is just a simply a league above from what I'm hearing from the VPI. The only area the VPI seems to be better at is bass weight, but not by much. 

I'm honestly quite dumbfounded here. I've always believed that analogue should be superior to digital. I know the Esoteric is a much pricier item but the VPI classic is supposed to be a very good turntable and shouldn't be a slouch either. At this point I feel like I should give up on analogue playback and invest further in digital. 

Has anyone had a similar experience comparing the best of digital to a very good analogue setup?

Equipment:
Esoteric X03SE 
VPI Classic, JMW Memorial 10.5, Zu-DL103
Accuphase C200L
Accuphase P600
AR 90 speakers

Test Record/CD:
Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Redbook vs MOV 180g reissue)



chadsort
dayglow
1,728 posts
 
IMO never liked any entry level VPI deck. They appear to be made well but Rega tables always seem to be more musical despite the "sub par" build quality. No one can deny Rega has great value in tonearms. I own a Rega P9/RB 1000 with an AT-OC9 mk 2/Allnic 1200 and estimate i'm getting 75%? of it's potential. When compared to my North Star Sapphire CDP it's almost 50/50 despite the Rega/phono preamp/ cartridge being 3x the retail of the North Star Sappire. Both of us will be better off when we upgrade our phono cartridge. In summary an analogue set up needs to be at least 3X(IMO) to equal or better digital playback. The debate over analoge vs. digital is outdated both can reach reference levels but be prepared to spend a lot more to equal or better good/great digital playback.
spatialking's avatar
spatialking
610 posts
 
@dayglow - that is a very interesting observation!   3x on analog to equal or better digital playback.   Yeah, now that I think about it, that makes a whole lot of sense!
downunder
1,329 posts
 
As the father of two teenage daughters - they could care less about CD or vinyl. Streaming is where it is at - same with 99.99 people under the age of 21.
They still love music, but don’t really care about the absolute SQ. My Daughters know vinyl sounds better, but that does not inhibit them loving streaming - in fact they don’e even think about formats.

In 5 years CD will be dead. In 20 years, vinyl will be dead.

hopefully full bandwidth streaming will be the then defacto.

anyone thinking anything different is wrong.
dynaquest4's avatar
dynaquest4
445 posts
 
In 5 years CD will be dead. In 20 years, vinyl will be dead.
Most people would opine that the CD is already dead, we just don't know it.  Vinyl has been dead for 30 years but has risen from the grave for some people.  This passing fad can't last.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
One point that hasn't been mentioned (or I can't find it) is the sound quality you can expect from the jMW arm.  For years i had a JMW 10.5i arm and several extra armtubes and was amazed when an audiobuddy of mine with the same arm claimed that his was roundly beaten, SQ-wise by a Jelco SA-750.

Since the Jelco came in under $500 and i trust my friend's ears, I bought one, and he was absoluely right.  No contest at all.  I ended up with Jelco 750s on both my tables -- much modified Lenco L75 and Empire 298 (for which the 9" Jelco is a drop-in replacement).  I actually cleared over $1K by selling the JMW stuff.
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